Money

2/8 -- AMI has responded to Jeff Bezos, and it sounds like his claim has shaken them. The company says, "American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos. Further, at the time of the recent allegations made by Mr. Bezos, it was in good faith negotiations to resolve all matters with him."

They continue, "Nonetheless, in light of the nature of the allegations published by Mr. Bezos, the Board has convened and determined that it should promptly and thoroughly investigate the claims. Upon completion of that investigation, the Board will take whatever appropriate action is necessary."

6:11 PM PT -- Ronan Farrow says AMI also attempted to blackmail him "and at least one other prominent journalist involved in breaking stories about the National Enquirer's arrangement with Trump."

The Pulitzer Prize winner says he "fielded similar 'stop digging or we'll ruin you' blackmail efforts from AMI." He says he did not engage AMI on the topic.

Jeff Bezos is sick of playing games with the National Enquirer -- he's released a series of letters it sent him, threatening to blackmail him over photos he and his lover sent each other.

The Amazon honcho says the Enquirer's parent company American Media Inc. (AMI) is threatening to publish photos he exchanged with Lauren Sanchez if he doesn't shut down investigations into AMI's ties to President Trump and the Saudi government.

Remember, Bezos owns the Washington Post, which has been all over the Trump administration's Saudi ties since its journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered last year.

Bezos says he also hired a private investigator to find out how the Enquirer obtained his text messages to Sanchez ... which it published last month. He's now gone fully on the offensive by releasing

, threatening to publish new explicit photos of Bezos and Sanchez, if he and WaPo don't back off.

As you can see in the emails, the Enquirer execs claim to have sexually explicit images sent between Jeff and Lauren ... including his naked bathroom selfie, several shirtless snaps of Jeff and sexually suggestive images of Lauren.

Bezos makes no bones about it ... calling it blackmail, but adding AMI miscalculated his reaction. He says he'd rather risk the public embarrassment than give in to the extortion attempt.

We reached out to AMI for comment ... no word back yet.

As we reported, the world's richest man is divorcing his wife, Mackenzie Bezos -- which he announced in January, the day before the Enquirer published its story about his relationship with Sanchez.

Originally Published -- 2/7 4:28 PM PT

Danielle Bregoli's star continues to rise, because her Snapchat series is bringing in tons of eyeballs to the screen, and she's looking to parlay the early success into even more projects.

Snapchat tells TMZ ... Danielle's new Snap Original, "Bringing Up Bhabie," generated over 10 MILLION unique views in the 24 hours after its Monday debut. We're told the first-day numbers give Snapchat tons of confidence that the show's a hit.

Look out Kardashians ... a rep for Danielle points out 'KUWTK' gets 1.5 million viewers per episode, adding, even though they're not in competition, Bhad Bhabie's numbers are WAY bigger.

Danielle's first-day viewership makes for one of the most successful premieres for this type of series, which started launching back in October. Snap honchos are super happy with the direction of their original content -- thanks, in large part, to Bhad Bhabie.

As you know, Danielle has been rapidly expanding her empire with a 25-city tour, a certified gold single, a futuristic billboard ad, and a lucrative beauty and makeup endorsement deal.

Taking into account all of her revenue streams ... Danielle's reps tell us she should easily surpass yearly earnings of $10 million.

So, what mountain will Danielle climb next? We're told she's looking for TV and movie roles.

Cordarrelle Patterson is so grateful Tom Brady got him a Super Bowl ring -- he got the QB a thank-you gift ... a diamond TB12 chain!!!

Patterson just joined the Patriots this season after spending some tough years with the Minnesota Vikings and the Oakland Raiders.

So, when Brady took Patterson to the promised land ... the WR/RB went straight to his favorite bling beast, Al the Jeweler, to whip up a custom "TB12" chain for his QB.

We're told the piece is made with hundreds of diamonds and set Patterson back thousands of dollars. But don't freak, dude's in the middle of an $8.5 million contract.

Brady thanked Patterson for the kind gesture on Instagram Thursday morning ... saying his daughter, Vivian, already loves it!!!

Al's huge among NFLers -- he's made sick pieces for superstars like Stefon Diggs, Jarvis Landry and a bunch more. Now, he can add TB12 (who is rarely spotted wearin' ice) to his list!!!

It's good to be a 6-time Super Bowl Champ!!! And, possibly, the greatest football player to ever live.

"That's for you, bitch!"

Those are the words CC Sabathia yelled at the Rays dugout after he was ejected in a game last season ... and now they're the words CC's autographed on baseballs you can own!!!

ICYMI ... the Yanks were in the middle of a blowout game last September -- when Sabathia retaliated after one of his teammates was nearly beaned in the head by a Rays pitcher.

Sabathia plunked Josh Sucre with a 92-mph dart square in the hamstring as payback ... and was immediately ejected.

On his way out, Sabathia pointed toward the Tampa dugout and famously yelled, "That's for you, bitch."

The craziest part of the story ... Sabathia only needed six more outs in the game to reach a $500,000 incentive in his contract -- but blew that off in order to have his teammate's back.

The Yanks later paid out the bonus anyway ... and to commemorate the whole incident -- Sabathia signed baseballs with the curse-word inscription for Steiner Sports.

CC only signed 52 of 'em (that's his jersey number) ... and they're going for $305 a pop.

Woody Allen says Amazon Studios got cold feet and backed out of a four-movie deal ... over the old molestation allegation about him and his daughter -- and now he wants MAJOR payback.

Woody filed a lawsuit Thursday against the studio for at least $68 million! In the suit, he says Amazon was all in, as of Aug. 2017, to distribute his movie, "A Rainy Day in New York" ... starring Selena Gomez and Timothee Chalamet.

Allen says the movie was shot, edited and ready for release -- but according to the suit, Amazon backed out in June 2018. He says he demanded an explanation, and the studio would only say it was due to "renewed allegations" and Woody's "controversial comments."

Even worse ... Woody says Amazon committed to distribute three other films as well, but reneged on all of them.

He says Amazon never spelled it out for him, but in the suit Woody says he thinks it's related to a "25-year old, baseless allegation" he molested his and Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Dylan.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are back in the luxury real estate market, because the couple is pulling out of a $14 million deal for a super exclusive Miami Beach condo.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Kim and Kanye are no longer going through with the deal after deciding their money would be better spent on a piece of property that's more private and secluded.

We're told Kim and Ye are looking into real estate in the Bahamas and other tropical destinations ... and they want something the whole family can enjoy.

There aren't exactly gift receipts for $14 million condos ... and we're told Kim and Kanye are losing their $600,000 down payment.

As we reported ... Kanye surprised Kim with a condo in an uber-exclusive building, dubbed "Billionaire Beach Bunker," as a Christmas present.

But, after they were photographed on their new condo's balcony, we're told Kim and Kanye realized the place wouldn't be right for them, because it lacked privacy for them and their fam.

2/6 -- Turns out the absurd amount of money spent on strippers at "Stripper Bowl" may have been even more ridiculous than we previously thought, according to one of the strippers working that night. 5 Star Jazzi posted a photo after the fact, claiming that she and her coworkers actually made a cool $3 MILLION Monday ... and split their earnings 25 ways. That's $120k per stripper!!!

However, other strippers there insist she's just fronting for the 'Gram, and that between the 111 strippers working that night, they all left with $2k each.

Big difference but, either way, not a shabby payday for 1 night's worth of work.

Pardon the stupid question, but do you wanna see what it looks like when more than half a million's floating around a club? Welcome to the Stripper Bowl!

ATL's own Quality Control Music, which reps Migos and Lil Baby, threw the ultimate send-off Monday night at the Gold Room club for all the exotic dancers who came to town for Super Bowl Weekend. We say the "ultimate" send-off, because they promised a full downpour of $500k ... and you gotta see how they delivered.

The bash drew a bunch of hip-hop stars -- Boosie Badazz, 2 Chainz, T.I. and Tiny, YFN Lucci, Trey Songz ... as well as Saints superstar Alvin Kamara.

The trophy for best entrance arrival easily goes to Lil Baby, though -- chopper for the win!

We're told QC's Pierre "Pee" Thomas was personally handing out stacks of cash to make it rain on the talent, and in the video you see several bankers boxes full of singles getting ripped open.

When it was all said and done, our sources say close to $600,000 was tossed, and you can see it all lining the club floor and bar surfaces.

Offset was there too, but as we told you, he's under a strict "no groupies" ordinance right now ... so tough environment, we're guessing. He and Cardi B hit up another club together earlier in the weekend but, surprisingly, no sign of her at Stripper Bowl.

Guess the AVNs are more her style.

The super-rich are getting super-richer ... the Kardashian sisters are celebrating like Tom Brady Monday morning after winning $10 million in a legal war over a cosmetics line ... TMZ has learned.

According to docs, Kourtney, Khloe and Kim Kardashian emerged victorious over Hillair Capital Management ... which had sued the sisters nearly 3 years ago. As we first reported, Hillair claimed the sisters didn't hold up their end of a licensing deal ... after it sunk $10 mil into a "Kardashian Beauty" line with Haven.

The K sisters didn't take that lying down -- insisting they had nothing to do with "Kardashian Beauty" -- and the case ended up in arbitration. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, a 3 judge panel completely rejected Hillair's claims and ordered the company to pay Kim and co. nearly $7.4 mil. It also has to fork over another $3.2 mil in interest.

The Kardashians' attorneys don't think Hillair will just cut a check. They've filed the arbitration decision in L.A. Superior Court to get the $10 mil award locked in, but according to the docs ... they fully expect Hillair to fight the decision.

The 14k gold and diamond Lakers championship rings Kobe Bryant purchased for his parents could now be YOURS -- because the jewelry is hitting the auction block ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to Goldin Auctions, Kobe bought two identical, blinged out rings for his parents to commemorate his first NBA championship with the Lakers following the 1999, 2000 season.

The rings -- which contain 40 diamonds each -- are the same rings the players got after beating the Indiana Pacers. They're legit and they're awesome.

The rings have an interesting backstory ... Kobe's mom, Pamela Bryant, famously tried to sell the rings, along with a bunch of other Kobe memorabilia back in the day ... and Kobe sued to try and stop the sale.

Kobe ultimately agreed to allow his parents to sell 6 items -- including the rings -- and, in 2013, they sold to a private collector (a big Lakers fan) for a total of $280,000.

Now, that collector is ready to part ways ... and went back to Goldin Auctions to make the sale.

The auction is officially underway -- and starting bids are $35,000 for Joe "Jellybean" Bryant's ring and $20,000 for Pamela Bryant's ring. They're expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Kobe and the Lakers won the series 4 games to 2. Shaquille O'Neal was named Finals MVP.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft says he's still very serious about getting Diddy into the NFL owner's fraternity ... telling TMZ Sports he really likes the hip-hop mogul.

Remember, Kraft was a big supporter of Diddy when he made a push to buy the Carolina Panthers back in 2017. The team was ultimately sold to hedge fund manager David Tepper.

So, when we saw Kraft at Michael Rubin's Fanatics Party in ATL on Saturday night, we asked if he thinks Diddy will ever actually accomplish his goal of buying an NFL team.

"I hope so," Kraft told us ... "I'm a big fan of his."

We then got Diddy a few hours later at Magic City and asked about the ownership situation -- he told us simply, "It's time."

Diddy caused pandemonium Saturday night outside Magic City Strip Club in Atlanta after pulling out a big fat wad of cash and hurling it in all directions.

We got the mogul first talking to a couple of guys outside the club, and it seemed to get tense. It's unclear what the beef was about, but it got heated.

In the end, it was all about the Benjamins. The crowd goes a little insane as the loot flies in the air.

When The Beatles officially called it quits in 1970, there were several signs along the way the boys weren't getting along ... including a harsh letter to Paul's lawyer signed by John, George and Ringo.

Now that document can be yours ... if you have a big stack of cash to spare.

The letter, dated April 18, 1969, informs Lee Eastman that he's "not authorized to act or to hold yourself out as the attourney or legal representative of 'The Beatles.'" It goes on to acknowledge Eastman reps Paul McCartney personally ... but that's it.

This document's signed by John Lennon, Richard Starkey (aka Ringo) and George Harrison ... and it's currently on sale for $325k.

There's another letter up for grabs too -- signed by the entire Fab Four -- that's a little more friendly. It's from January 1969 and confirms that attorney John Eastman is authorized to handle the band's contract negotiations "in accordance with our instructions." This one's for sale for $225k.

If you don't know ... a few months after the April letter, John privately informed the other Beatles he was leaving the group. The split wasn't made public until April 10, 1970, though ... when Paul announced he was out.

A former Super Bowl MVP is offering up FREE advice for all you degenerates out there ... 'cause Deion Branch says take the OVER on Sunday!!!

The ex-Patriots star tells TMZ Sports his former team will beat the Rams in Super Bowl XLIII ... and the score will be around 31-27.

Translation ... that 56.5 over/under that Vegas set is EASY MONEY!!!

"It'll go over," the ex-NFL receiver guarantees ... "All the people who are betting, take the over."

If you're into prop bets ... Deion's got some advice for you there too -- saying Tom Brady WILL be the MVP of the game.

And, if you want to live life dangerously and bet on an underdog to win the award over TB12 ... Branch even has the guy for you there too!!!

BTW ... Deion is confident the Pats are gonna win 'cause he knows Brady just won't let New England lose.

In fact -- he told us a hilarious story where Tom couldn't even handle losing to him in a game of ping pong!!!

Rapper Blueface has been arrested for gun possession ... TMZ learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us, the man behind the Bust Down dance craze was in downtown L.A. Friday at around 7 PM when cops got word there were rappers in the area who were carrying large amounts of cash and wearing lots of jewelry. The concern was that there were robberies in that area by gang members and cops were worried the rappers were easy targets.

When LAPD rolled up, Blueface and his posse scattered and several of them tossed their guns away as they fled.

Blueface and two others were apprehended. Cops later discovered the guns were loaded.

Blueface was booked for felony possession of carrying a loaded firearm.

He was released on $35,000 bail.

Tekashi69 is dropping a ton of cash to keep his family safe, which they're most certainly going to need more than ever, now that everyone knows he's cooperating with the feds and naming names.

Sources close to Tekashi tell us, since his arrest in November, he's spent thousands on personal security for his mother. We're told, for obvious reasons, the rapper's worried anyone looking for revenge against him ... might harm her.

TMZ broke the story ... 6ix9ine pled guilty to 9 counts and did a lot of snitching in the process -- implicating members of the Nine Trey Bloods in multiple crimes. For instance, he named the alleged trigger man in the attempted shooting of Chief Keef -- and that guy's since been indicted.

Tekashi's attorney, Dawn Florio, tells us, "6ix9ine has the means to pay for his family's private security, so the government expects the money to come out of [his] pocket to protect his closest family members."

She says the government would step in if, at some point, Tekashi can't afford the security.

As for his baby mama, Sara Molina, we're told she has her own 24/7 armed security too ... but she's footing the bill. She told us on "TMZ Live" that she's worried about their 3-year-old daughter's safety, and added, Tekashi's not in contact with them.

Ariana Grande might actually have a solution to a seemingly permanent mistake on her hand -- an offer to get it wiped clean -- and make more than a million bucks in the process.

Grande took tons of heat this week when people noticed some new Japanese ink on her palm. The tat was supposed to say "7 Rings" -- like her new single -- but, when translated, actually said, "Japanese style BBQ grill." Ariana tried to fix the tat by adding characters, but now the tattoo says, "Japanese BBQ finger."

All might not be lost for the "Thank U, Next" singer ... we've learned LaserAway -- a company that specializes in hair and tattoo removal -- sent Ariana a massive offer Friday.

Sources tell us the deal is worth $1.5 mil, minimum.

The deal requires that Ariana participate in one photo/video shoot at a LaserAway location, which will be used in social media, print and viral campaigns. They're also asking Ariana for one post per month for a whole year of LaserAway content.

The offer letter -- signed by company president, Todd Heckmann -- concludes with, "Thank u, next tiny barbecue grill."

We spoke with Scooter Braun, who said, "I can't speak for Ariana as we have not received this letter, however, if they're willing to send me the offer, I'm sure I'd be happy to get a tattoo and then remove it real quick ... for $1.5 mil. Hopefully, we can make this deal before her album comes out next week -- shameless plug."