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Andy Warhol has been dead for 35 years, and his mark on American art is indelible, and now there is even more proof of the artist's standing, because he just shattered the record for the most expensive American art ever sold.

Warhol's 1964 silk-screen of Marilyn Monroe just fetched $195 million at a Christie's auction in New York. The painting is 40-40 inches, and iconic beyond words. It's one of 5 silk-screens Warhol crafted back in 1964.

Legend has it ... a performance artist named Dorothy Podber went by Andy's studio -- The Factory -- and asked if she could "shoot" the paintings. Andy thought she meant with a camera, but she pulled out a gun and fired shots in 4 of the 5 paintings, hitting the image in the forehead. The only one spared was the turquoise one that just sold.

The Marilyn just beat the previous sales record by a mile, and there's a great story behind this. The record had been held by Brooklyn artist Jean-Michel Basquiat ... his skull painting sold for $110 mil in 2017. Jean-Michel and Andy were not only friends ... they collaborated on several hundred paintings. Their relationship is part of a fascinating Netflix documentary that just dropped, called "The Andy Warhol Diaries."

The famous hammer Chris Hemsworth wields as Thor is hitting the market ... and the auction hammer is expected to slam once the bidding gets into the six figures.

The movie prop, known as Stunt Mjolnir Hammer, is from the 2011 Marvel Studios film "Thor" ... and is expected to fetch at least $100,000 next month in one of the world’s largest live auctions of film and TV memorabilia.

Propstore is handling the auction ... and they're also seeking bids on super cool items from blockbusters like 'Star Wars,' 'Back To The Future,' 'Cast Away,' and 'Freddy vs. Jason.'

The auction is projected to rake in $9 million when the dust settles ... and the most expensive item is likely to be a screen-matched ILM 'Red Leader' X-Wing Starfighter model miniature from 'Star Wars: A New Hope' ... with the estimated bid between $500k and $1 million.

There's also a light-up, full-size DeLorean time machine replica used for official Universal Studios promotional events from the 'Back To The Future' trilogy ... and it's expected to fetch between $150k and $200k.

For the Tom Hanks crowd, there's a screen-matched distressed Wilson volleyball from "Cast Away" ... a carefully crafted item with an estimated winning bid of $80k to $120k.

For the horror fans, the auction includes Freddy Krueger's protruding bladed glove and sweater SFX rig from 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason" ... and it's expected to go for at least $15k.

Tom Brady won't be too far away from football after he retires -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar will join Fox Sports as a lead analyst when he officially decides to walk away from the game.

The network made the news official on Tuesday ... saying it is "pleased" to bring TB12 on board "immediately following his playing career."

The gig will include calling the biggest marquee matchups of the season alongside play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt ... as well as serving as an ambassador for the Fox team, according to exec. Lachlan Murdoch.

Brady commented about the future move just minutes ago ... saying he's pumped for the role, but making it clear he's focused on the task at hand.

"Excited, but a lot of unfinished business on the field with the @Buccaneers #LFG."

It's a major get for Fox -- and it will most definitely come with a huge paycheck for Brady. Tony Romo -- who joined the booth after retiring in 2017 -- is reportedly making around $18 mil. over 10 years to be CBS' lead analyst.

Brady flirted with retirement earlier this year ... walking away from the game for less than 2 months before coming back.

His post-football life appeared to be in Hollywood ... as he's currently filming "80 For Brady," a movie starring Jane Fonda, Sally Field and more.

The Fox announcement comes shortly after Troy Aikman signed a deal with ESPN.

YG is off the hook for an alleged robbery in Sin City ... his criminal case was just dismissed on the morning of jury selection.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... YG settled out of court with the alleged robbery victim, and the guy was no longer interested in cooperating with prosecutors in the criminal case.

TMZ broke the story ... YG was facing a felony robbery charge for allegedly yanking a dude's chain off his neck in a 2018 altercation at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, before making off with the diamond-laced pendant.

We're told YG maintained he never stole the chain from the man, though he admitted the bling snapped off when the two were in a fight.

YG’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, tells TMZ … "Justice was served expeditiously, we would've had the same result if the case went to trial."

Elon Musk thinks the Russian government is out to get him -- maybe kill him -- and he's exposing the threat he received that supports his theory.

Elon just tweeted, "If I die under mysterious circumstances, it's been nice knowin ya."

As for what prompted the tweet, a guy named Dmitry Rogozin, Chief of Russia's Space Agency, sent a statement to Russian media accusing Elon of assisting Ukraine in Russia's brutal war against the country.

Rogozin accused Elon of being "involved in supplying the fascist forces in Ukraine with military communication equipment."

And then, the ominous warning ... “And for this, Elon, you will be held accountable like an adult – no matter how much you’ll play the fool.”

As for linking Rogozin's statement to Elon's tweet, it's pretty obvious ... Elon tweeted 6 minutes after Rogozin released his statement.

Elon's SpaceX Starlink terminals are now being used by Ukrainian forces to keep the Internet and therefore communications strong as Russia tries to disable it. It's a critical link in fighting the war.

Rogozin went on ... “From the testimony of the captured commander of the 35th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Dmitry Kormyankov, it turns out that the internet terminals of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite company were delivered to the militants of the Nazi Azov Battalion and the Ukrainian Marines in Mariupol by military helicopters.”

Musk's mom, Maye, was shaken by Elon's tweet, responding, "That's not funny."

Cardi B was the perfect person to ask about mommy duty on Mother's Day -- especially since Rihanna is about to become one herself -- and her sage advice is ... (cue video).

The rapper was leaving Carbone Sunday night in NYC next to her hubby, Offset, and at least one of their kids (looks like Kulture) ... and Cardi chopped it up with our photog before getting into her waiting SUV about a lot of stuff, including words of wisdom for mom-to-be RiRi.

Check it out ... she says motherhood is something that comes pretty naturally, and she thinks the same will happen for Rihanna when the baby comes -- which should be any day now.

We also asked about Roe v. Wade, but she wasn't as chatty about that. What she did clarify, however, was her stance on fame ... and seemingly being done with it, which she alluded to about a week or so ago in sorta dramatic fashion.

Luckily, CB sets the record straight with us about what she meant ... and it sounds like she was mostly referring to her online presence more than anything. So, no -- Cardi's not scrapping music altogether. Good to hear!

Blac Chyna might be down, but she's not out -- at least according to her mom, who says the mother-daughter duo is teaming up yet again ... and going full David Letterman.

We spoke to Tokyo Toni in the aftermath of Chyna losing her court case against the Kardashians -- a brutal defeat that's surely going to be costly for her -- and our photog asked the obvious ... is there any chance BC will be on TV again???

The answer, per Toni, is ... absolutely! In fact, she dropped kind of a big nugget on us -- saying the two of them are actually getting right back to work for a new show that's quite different from what they've done before, which were more reality-based programs.

Unlike those other ventures -- including "The Real Blac Chyna" and "Tokyo Toni's Finding Love ASAP!" -- TT tells us here that the upcoming series is a talk show ... where both mom and daughter sit down with guests and get the tea.

As you see, Toni's stoked about it ... and even invites us, TMZ, onto the show for a sit-down -- to which we say, why the heck not?!? Even more interesting is that Toni says this is going to be carried on her very own network -- dubbed SHN.

Assuming this comes to fruition the way Toni describes it, Chyna's nonchalant attitude from the other day makes a bit more sense ... apparently, she's got some things in the pipeline, and has reason to be happy -- even after her across-the-board defeat before a jury.

Seems like Tristan Thompson is cleverly trying to win back his ex, Khloe Kardashian, by nuzzling up to the person in the seat of power -- Kris Jenner.

Kris shared a photo of the pink and white roses she received for Mom's Day, thanking Tristan for the bouquet and saying she loved him. Of course, this comes 5 months after TT and Maralee Nichols welcomed a child together ... super problematic for his relationship with Khloe.

It's interesting ... TT didn't post any tribute to Khloe, with whom he shares a child, as he has in recent years. It's also unclear if Khloe got a Mother's Day gift from him.

Meanwhile, Travis Scott went all out on the Mother's Day celebration for Kylie Jenner. Kylie posted a photo with their daughter, Stormi ... surrounded by all-white décor and a sea of white flowers, sitting poolside.

Kylie, who welcomed their second child in February, seemed to be impressed by Travis' effort. She shared details of the decorations all over her IG, calling it the sweetest Mother's Day.

Michael B. Jordan is one step closer to unloading his multi-million dollar estate ... because he's found a buyer.

Real estate sources say Michael has accepted an offer for his bachelor pad in the Hollywood Hills, which he listed back in March for just under $7 million.

The pad is 4,800 square feet with 3 bedrooms ... and it's got all the bells and whistles, including a 50-foot pool, hot tub, waterfall, outdoor kitchen, wood-burning pizza oven and a movie theater.

The master suite is decked out with a fireplace, walk-in closet, sitting area and a balcony. And, get this ... there's even a yoga loft!

Michael bought the place back in 2019 in an off-market deal from Daisy Fuentes for $5.8 mil ... our sources say he's selling because he recently bought a new home in L.A.

The neighborhood is littered with celebs ... including Lady Gaga, Robert Pattinson and Niall Horan.

Snoop Dogg and his Mt. Westmore groupmate Ice Cube are about to be a lot closer … now that Snoop is a part-owner in Cube’s Big3 basketball league … TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Snoop and PayPal co-founder Ken Howery dropped $625,000 together to purchase a 40 percent stake in BIG3 team “Bivouac” that went winless last season due to injuries.

BIG3 opened the floodgates for people to grab a stake in the franchise team through NFTs... which is exactly what Snoop and Ken did.

They weren't the only ones, either. Popular NFT hubs DeGods, Gary Vaynerchuk and VeeFriends, Bill Lee and MyDoge/DogeCoin, and Krause House all got in the spending spree, copping all 25 Fire-Tiers of the Killer 3’s, Trilogy, Aliens and Ball Hogs, respectively.

Snoop has become one of the space’s most avid NFT collectors … even touting his newly re-bought Death Row Records will be a 100 percent “NFT Label”

Snoop and Howery reportedly purchased all 25 Fire for Bivouac priced at $25,000 each. In other words, the team’s stock was divided into blockchains for sale. Remaining editions will be available come Saturday, May 7 for hungry Discord members.

Shawne Merriman tells TMZ Sports he believes Antonio Brown did make some "valid points" when he went off on a rant against Colin Kaepernick in a recent interview.

If you missed it, Brown called the ex-49ers star a "trash" QB in a sitdown with "Cigar Talk." He also said he believed the 34-year-old sold out when he settled his lawsuit with the NFL. And, he questioned just how big of an impact Colin was really having in the community.

Merriman clearly doesn't believe all of the above is true ... but he said on Friday there were some things he did agree on with Brown.

"He makes some valid points about Colin Kaepernick, saying that, you know, he took the money from the NFL. The settlement. The Nike commercials -- all these things," Merriman said.

"Well, I think a lot of people think that way about all the other stuff that Colin Kaepernick has going on, and his opportunities that he's had to get back in the NFL, and just hasn't."

Merriman says he believes if Brown hadn't already become such a polarizing figure -- he thinks more people would be agreeing with him.

"We get the message," Merriman said, "but people aren't trying to listen to the messenger."

There was at least one NFL star who agreed with Brown fully ... Saints wideout Michael Thomas tweeted Friday afternoon, "he isn’t wrong wrong lol."

Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of her daughter's deceased killer, Brian Laundrie ... seeking around $30k in damages.

Laundrie's family attorney, Steven Bertolino, tells TMZ … the filing of the wrongful death lawsuit by the Petito family was fully expected and most likely will not be defended.

He says, "The Petitos will have gained nothing more than a piece of paper that tells them what everyone already knows - which is that Brian was responsible for Gabby’s death as indicated by the FBI."

According to the lawsuit ... Laundrie killed Gabby and her parents had to cover funeral and burial expenses. They also claim they've suffered a loss of care and comfort from their daughter.

As for why only $30k, when they could have sued for 7-figures for the murder of their daughter, we're guessing it's because the funds just aren't there.

As we reported ... Gabby's parents sued Brian Laundrie's parents, claiming they were aware their son murdered their daughter before Brian's body was found in October.

An absolutely insane fight broke out at a card room in California this week ... and it all appeared to start because a man dropped a "Yo Mama" insult on another man.

The wild scene reportedly went down at HUSTLER Casino in L.A. ... after two guys got into a verbal argument at a poker table inside the venue for unknown reasons.

Video from the casino shows the two screamed at each other ... and escalated into a full-on fistfight when one of the men fired off a jab about the other man's mother.

In the clip, you can see the guy was so upset over the quip, that he spit on his rival's face ... and then tried to punch him in the head.

That's when the man in the grey shirt retreated, grabbed a small table and then beat the other man with it.

Security eventually stepped in and tased the dude who was wielding the table. As the guy was on the ground, he said, "He hit me first!"

According to poker news website CardsChat, HUSTLER Casino has banned all of the combatants, saying "any form of violence is not tolerated."

Antonio Brown just unloaded on Colin Kaepernick -- saying the quarterback is "trash" on the field ... while questioning the QB's charity work "in the hood" off of it.

AB fired off the explosive comments in a sit-down interview with Naji of "Cigar Talk" ... ripping the guy for settling his past lawsuit with the NFL, saying he doesn't believe Kaepernick actually wants to play still, and openly wondering if the 34-year-old's community contributions have actually made a difference.

Brown's rant all began after he appeared to be puzzled about why people feel bad for Kaepernick these days ... saying he thinks the settlement Kap reached with the NFL in 2019 following his collusion lawsuit sufficiently took care of him.

"He took a deal," Brown said. "We don't feel sorry for you. You took the deal. F*** outta here."

"'Oh, Kaepernick!'" he added in a mocking tone. "Man, you on f***ing Nike, man. F*** outta here."

Brown then said he thinks Kaepernick "don't want to play" football anymore ... and said even if the former 49ers star still truly did, he called his skill set "trash."

"All that is cap," Brown said. "We ain't respecting that, bro. You took the money, the commercials. We don't see you outside. We don't see him in the hood. He don't do nothing. Like, we cool. But, nah, we ain't even stan Kaepernick."

Brown continued, "He not even from the hood. He haven't even been in the trenches. We like Kaepernick and all, but we ain't really on that."

AB went on to wonder out loud how much Kaepernick has really done for those in need.

"He built a foundation," Brown said. "What it do, though? I'm being real. What superhero he enforce? Who he put on? Who he help?"

Of course, Kaepernick has been heavily involved in charitable work since becoming an NFL free agent following the 2016 season ... he created the "Know Your Rights Camp" to help in the fight for social justice. He also famously donated $1 million to orgs with similar calls for action. Kaepernick even wrote a children's book.

As for his playing career, Kaepernick has said over and over again he wants to get another crack at playing in the league -- and has been working out like a mad man in order to get a tryout somewhere.

Ray J insists Kris Jenner was smack in the middle of negotiating Kim and Ray J's sex tape, but we've learned the businesswoman of the century was hands-off when the deal was cut.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Kris never negotiated with Vivid Entertainment, which distributed the tape back in 2007. We're told Kim and Ray J dealt with Vivid directly and with their lawyers.

In his interview, Ray J maintains Kris and Kim hatched the plot to make and peddle a sex tape in the wake of the enormous financial success of Paris Hilton's. Sources on the other side dispute that, maintaining she had nothing to do with planning the tape, and we've learned Kris was hands-off making the actual deal and had no contact with Vivid.

Of course, that doesn't mean Kris wasn't working behind the scenes, as Ray J claims.

As we've reported over the years, although the Kardashians claimed they never signed off on the tape, the reality is that Vivid could not have released it without the signatures of Kim and Ray ... if it did, there would be a slam dunk lawsuit, because Vivid could not use the name or likeness of anyone on tape without their consent.

Kim actually sued Vivid before the tape was released and that lawsuit was dropped ... we're told because she and Ray cut the deal they wanted and that cleared the path for the release of the video.

Kanye West and Antonio Brown have some competition ... 'cause Lakers legend Magic Johnson is joining a bid to purchase the Denver Broncos!!

The Hall of Fame hooper is hopping on Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Josh Harris' offer to purchase the NFL team, according to Sportico.

Of course, superstar Antonio Brown previously told TMZ Sports he and Kanye West are "extremely serious" about taking over the team ... claiming Donda Sports was working like crazy to make it happen.

With that being said, the Broncos are currently valued at close to $4 billion ... and when it's all said and done, the sale is expected to be the biggest in sports history.

Johnson has become a business mogul following his incredible career with the Purple & Gold -- he's invested in the Dodgers, Lakers, Sparks and LAFC ... as well as Starbucks, Burger King, Square, Cameo, 24 Hour Fitness and more.

Magic's involvement would be a step in the right direction for the NFL, which has a serious issue with diversity among NFL owners.

Now, Forbes reports Ye has a net worth of around $1.8 billion ... but Harris' is reportedly around $5.6 billion.