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'RHONJ' star, Teresa Giudice, is clapping back at Caroline Manzo ... insisting she was all bark and no bite.

ICYMI, Caroline recently let loose on the "Dear Albie" Podcast, "Caroline Manzo, Out For Blood," saying she was tired of Teresa blaming her for allegedly alerting the IRS of the Giudice's wrongdoings. She added, "Sometimes, you gotta smack the bully. I am more than happy to go smack the bully.”

Giudice clearly isn't intimidated by Caroline, telling us, "She didn't knock the s*** out of me the entire time she was on the show, that's why I'm still there and she's not." She says Caroline's just using her name for clout, adding, "She's promoting her son's podcast so she talks about me because otherwise, no one is paying attention."

Interestingly enough, Teresa claims Caroline was totally cool with her when they recently did a Super Bowl commercial together, saying, "In person, she was hugging me. On her son's podcast, she wants to fight me."

Parents are doing anything to keep their kids safe on the heels of another school mass shooting -- and that means an all-new run on bulletproof backpacks.

Former Secret Service agent, Mike De Geus, is the founder and CEO of Leatherback Gear, and he says his company has seen an 800% spike in sales for their fortified knapsacks since Tuesday's shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Mike, who protected former Presidents Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton when he was a Secret Service agent, says his brand's backpacks offer the same amount of bulletproof armor he had when he was protecting POTUS.

We're told most of the sales are for a $249.99 Sport One Jr. backpack that separates into two pieces, creating a bulletproof vest in seconds, covering the user's front and back.

Mike says the backpack was designed with active shootings in mind.

Another bulletproof backpack manufacturer, TuffyPacks, says it's seeing a noticeable uptick in sales for armor inserts that can go inside any bag. Owner Steve Naremore says the products are being shipped all over the country, with sales up 300%.

It's interesting ... TuffyPacks is based in Texas and they say they work with several school districts across the country, but not the one in Uvalde, where 19 students and 2 teachers were gunned down.

A third company, Guard Dog Security, says it's seen an increase in demand from consumers and retail partners who carry their bulletproof bags, including Lowe's and Dick's Sporting Goods.

The company's president, Yasir Sheikh, tells TMZ the brand donates a portion of its proceeds to Make Our Schools Safe, an organization founded by the parents of a student killed in the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida.

Brandon Thomas Lee and his brother Dylan just closed on a house in Encino, shelling out just under $4 million for their new digs ... TMZ has learned

Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's sons didn't just scoop up a 4-bedroom home, the place is more like a palatial estate!

The ranch-style property -- for which they paid $3,995,000 -- has a main house that's 3,700 square feet with 3 bedrooms, a fireplace in the living room, a modern kitchen adjacent to the dining room and a yoga retreat in the attic.

The home, tucked behind a wrought iron gate and towering oak trees, also includes a 400-sq.-ft. guest house and a massive swimming pool. There's even a bridge behind the gate with a paver-stone driveway leading to the motor court and 2-car garage.

TMZ broke the story ... Brandon and Dylan sold their crib in Malibu -- where they lived most of their lives -- getting their asking price of $3 million after 2 months on the market.

Now, 25-year-old Brandon and 24-year-old Dylan are all grown up, and putting down new roots.

The National Rifle Association will be without one of its performers this weekend ... singer Don McLean will no longer play at the event after the elementary school shooting in Uvalde.

McLean tells us, "In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week. I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans."

He continues, "I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation."

McLean, the voice behind the 1971 hit, "American Pie," was one of several performers scheduled to take the stage in Houston this weekend -- some of the others include Lee Greenwood, Danielle Peck and Larry Gatlin.

As we reported, 19 children inside a 4th-grade classroom and two teachers were killed when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire with an AR-15.

Russ is showing his newly founded DIEMON Records can put up visible competition with the major labels.

The proud do-it-yourself rapper released the video for his "Handsomer Remix" single ... featuring some serious star power cameos from Snoop Dogg and Tiffany Haddish.

The superstar actress provides comedy relief inside a mansion party and Snoop, well, he plays himself ... convincingly, though!

Tiffany doesn't rap on the track but she's told TMZ Hip Hop she plans to collaborate with both Snoop and Beyonce down the line.

Edgar Esteves and Logan Fields both directed the visual and Russ' new artist Ktlyn is featured on the track. It's been doing well too -- peaking at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Russ is rather proud of the visual, and for the $300,000 he says he paid for total production, he should be. No word how much he paid Uncle Snoop, who's known to charge $250,000 a pop when he's doing his feature thing, but it's likely they worked something out.

Britney Spears says her dad has been ducking for cover so he doesn't have to sit for a deposition, detailing his conduct in the conservatorship case, but now her lawyer says they're calling Jamie's bluff.

Jamie has said he would sit for a depo, but only in Kentwood, Louisiana. Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, says in legal docs, he'll gladly fly to Kentwood to put Jamie under oath.

Rosengart says in new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, that Jamie has been skirting the depo for more than 5 months, and he thinks for good reason. Rosengart claims he can prove Jamie was running "a corrupted and conflicted conservatorship that stripped his daughter of certain fundamental liberties," adding Jamie enriched himself to the tune of at least $6.3 million and paid various people involved in the conservatorship tens of millions of dollars more.

Rosengart goes on to claim Jamie "continues to harass and bully Britney Spears by, among other things, failing to cooperate with his discovery ... and actually noticing his daughter's deposition, even as he hides from answering essential deposition questions."

TMZ broke the story ... Jamie wants Britney under oath to challenge her allegations.

Browns linebacker Anthony Walker's presser was interrupted in a very good AND expensive way -- Deshaun Watson came up and gifted him a brand new Rolex as a "thank you" for giving up his jersey number!!

#4 has belonged to Walker since he signed with the Browns in 2021 ... which is the same number Watson's been rockin' since his Clemson and Texans days.

When the quarterback was shipped to Cleveland in March, Walker gave up his jersey on the spot ... and Watson rewarded him by handing over a Rolex box during his press conference after OTAs on Wednesday.

"Appreciate you, man," Walker said to Watson during his presser.

The two hugged it out and media members were left curious ... with one reporter asking, "You're not gonna open that here?"

Walker laughed it off ... saying, "Nah, I'm not. That's a good guy," ... but the media were determined to get to the bottom of things and asked if it was for about the number change.

"We'll keep that on the hush, but yeah."

Watson has been showing major love -- not to just Walker -- but to the whole team ... just last week, he took the Browns' offense on a trip to the Bahamas for some team bonding.

Snoop Dogg's done it all -- from Super Bowl performances to being Martha Stewart's BFF -- but there's another wild moment we're just hearing about, involving Michael Jordan and a pretty sweet offer.

Snoop says he once turned down a whopping $2 million dollars to DJ a Michael Jordan party. Apparently, money can't buy everything, as the Doggfather revealed on Jake Paul's "Impaulsive" Podcast ... and apparently, that includes scheduling conflicts. Even for his Airness.

He also ranked Magic Johnson as his favorite "MJ," so his Lakers fandom probably influenced his decision NOT to move things around to accommodate Michael.

Snoop occasionally moonlights as DJ Snoopadelic and has become nifty with the turntables over the years, but he's also far from hurting for bread.

Interestingly, he recently told the Nelk Boys he gets $250,000 per feature on other artists' songs.

Chuck Liddell says Brendan Langley should turn his crummy situation into potential cash ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the ex-NFL player should try pro fighting after his wild brawl with an airline employee last week.

The UFC star watched the vid of Langley and a United Airlines worker duking it out while at LAX on Tuesday ... and it wasn't hard to tell, despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the fistfight, the Iceman was impressed with Langley's power.

So much so, Chuck said he believes Langley -- a former Denver Broncos third-round pick -- should seriously consider trying to make a career out of throwing his hands going forward.

"Those fights are doing well," Liddell said of amateurs, viral video stars and celebs getting in the ring. "Turn him into a fighter. Have him fight somebody!"

Liddell says a YouTuber would make sense as a potential opponent for the 27-year-old.

Langley, meanwhile, could be looking for the work ... the Calgary Stampeders announced Tuesday afternoon that they have suspended their wide receiver indefinitely after the fight.

Kanye West's failed presidential bid just took another hit ... his campaign committee claims they fell victim to a fraud scheme where thousands went to pay off someone's credit card.

Kanye 2020 told the Federal Election Commission someone unaffiliated with the campaign accessed the committee's bank account, swiping $3,999 to pay off their own credit card bills.

In a letter fired off Tuesday to the FEC, and obtained by TMZ, Kanye 2020 says an investigation determined someone accessed the account three times between December and February, and the campaign was unable to get the money back from the First Bank of Wyoming.

The FEC previously flagged the transactions and Kanye's campaign took a look and is now claiming they were the victim here. There doesn't appear to have been an arrest made yet, and it appears the FEC is working to gather more info. Business Insider was the first to report the filing.

"Queer Eye" star, Bobby Berk, is taking his interior design talents to Airbnb ... renting out his newly renovated Palm Desert mansion for only $22!

The Netflix star is opening up his all-new home in Palm Desert. The best part is ... he'll be offering two, 2-night stays for only $22 each, yep, on the WAYYY cheap.

The "Casa Tierra" pad offers some beautiful design and great views, and Bobby documented his renovation of the home.

The 5,000 sq ft estate has all the bells and whistles, including 7 custom-designed bedrooms, covered balconies, a pool and hot tub ... not to mention a theater, bocce ball court and areas to unwind with yoga/meditation.

It may sound too good to be true, but potential guests can actually request a booking starting Tuesday at 9 AM PT. While there are more days available to book, the special price is only offered for the first two, 2-night stays June 6-8 and June 9-11.

Amber Heard's participation in 'Aquaman 2' -- however minimal it may end up being -- had absolutely nothing to do with Johnny Depp ... so says the guy who heads up DC Films.

Walter Hamada -- WarnerMedia's head honcho for all things DC movies these days -- sat for a deposition that was played in court by Johnny's team Tuesday ... this as a rebuttal witness after AH's squad rested their case, and as closing arguments approach on Friday.

Check out his testimony ... he tells JD's attorney, Ben Chew, that whatever was going on in the outside world between Amber and Johnny these past few years had no bearing on Warner's decision to downplay her role as Mera -- nor did it affect how much they paid her.

As you know ... there's been much speculation and rumors that AH is seriously sidelined in the 'Aquqman' sequel, this after significant screen time in both the OG and 'Justice League.'

Amber's attorneys have trotted out witnesses who've suggested Amber lost not just a big part in the movie, but big money that should've come with it ... in the form of a renegotiation upon the success of its predecessor, which they say is SOP in the movie biz.

WH addressed that head-on -- saying that under his watch, Warner made clear they wanted to reign in all these pay raises -- which can be costly -- and hold people to option agreements in contracts they originally signed with them ... and AH got a taste of that, he says.

She made a mil for the first movie, and since WM exercised her option for the sequel without rejiggering the deal ... they only gave her $2 mil -- something Amber's attorneys have called a blatant sign her career's been damaged by this whole saga.

Welp, here's the latest entry to the Tone-Deaf Marketing Hall of Fame (there really should be one by now) ... Walmart's Juneteenth Ice Cream is MOA -- melting on arrival -- with critics, as one might expect.

As soon as the retail giant started putting the "Celebration Edition" on its freezer shelves ... the Twitter mob sounded off, calling the idea "garbage," and worse. The pints contain swirled red velvet and cheesecake ice cream flavors ... and included the message, "Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope."

Yes, all positives, but also ... exploitive for capitalism's sake??? That's the tone of the backlash against Walmart ahead of the new federal holiday -- June 19th will mark the 2nd year it's recognized -- which commemorates the day the last enslaved Americans got the news President Lincoln had abolished slavery.

Walmart is also launching a similar "celebration edition" for Pride Month, which is also coming up in June. That flavor is white chocolate ice cream with brownies and cherries.

Depending on your viewpoint ... that's either equal opportunity, or equally offensive.

While Amber Heard may be at war with one Hollywood heavyweight, another had her back, at least professionally ... because according to testimony, Jason Momoa allegedly fought to keep her in "Aquaman 2"

Neither Johnny nor Amber took the stand Monday, but entertainment consultant Kathryn Arnold was called to talk about Heard's mark in the industry. At one point, Amber's attorney began asking about her role in "Aquaman 2."

As you may know, it was reported Amber's role was significantly cut in the film, but Arnold says there was some question as to whether or not she'd even be in the film at all.

Arnold says both Momoa and the film's director, James Wan, were both "adamant" she be included in the movie. She testified back in February 2021, there were conversations that Amber may not be hired for the movie at all ... but the two showed their support for her.

Another interesting tidbit about Momoa ... Arnold says he re-negotiated his contract from making about $3-4M for the first "Aquaman" to about $15M for the second installment.

Travis Scott just surprised fans with his second Nike drop in two weeks ... but this time, we're told proceeds from the collection will help community initiatives important to the rapper.

TS took to his IG page Monday without warning to announce the release of a new TS Air Max 1 Wheat as well as a summer collection of shorts, shirts, a bikini, belt, socks and a bag.

Naturally, the shoe raffle filled up, with what our Travis sources say was more than a million entries in the first 30 minutes -- and plenty of Travis fans grabbed the other merch as well, though it's not yet totally sold out.

Sources close to Travis tell us he wanted to do the drop through his own website so that he could ensure the proceeds go to Project Heal. Project Heal is an initiative Travis launched back in March as a multi-tier effort to fund initiatives Travis finds important and worthy of assistance.

While the numbers continue to roll in, our Travis sources believe the latest launch has the ability to reach millions of dollars in proceeds, which would obviously be a big help to PH.

Travis Scott is being sued over another incident at a concert ... he's being blamed for inciting a stampede during one of his performances at Rolling Loud.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, police told Travis to stop his 2019 gig at Rolling Loud in Miami because the crowd was getting out of control, but Travis ignored cops and instead riled up his fans even more.

A woman who says she was injured at the concert, Marchelle Love, is suing Travis and others ... claiming multiple stampedes broke out during Travis' set, resulting in folks in the crowd suffocating, losing consciousness, fighting, and being trampled.

Love claims Travis was aware and could even see people were being hurt in the stampede and did nothing to stop it. She says he ignored multiple warnings from security and police about toning down his performance, leading to a stampede where her leg was shattered in the scrum.

In the docs, she says Travis should have known better ... not only because there were other stampedes at Rolling Loud the night before, but also because his shows had a history of getting out of hand.

As you know ... Travis is also facing a ton of lawsuits for the deadly Astroworld festival, where 10 people died.

We reached out to Travis' camp ... so far no word back.