Money

Rap star 2 Chainz says he's sad as hell to see the Atlanta Falcons trade his good friend Julio Jones ... but tells TMZ Sports he's still gonna support his guy by coppin' his new Titans jersey!!

Of course, the "Grey Area" MC is a diehard Dirty Birds fan ... and has been tight with JJ over the years.

Now that the Falcons are entering their first season since 2011 without Julio ... we had to ask how 2 Chainz is holding up.

"I'm bummed out about it, man," Julio told us outside Amiri on Rodeo Drive. "I'm a Falcons fan, but "I'm a Julio fan. He's a great friend of mine."

"I'm a huge Julio fan," he added. "Somebody today called me about the suites up there at the Falcons. I don't know how I feel yet."

2 Chainz explains Falcons fans had a strong relationship with Julio ... which is why it stings to see him go.

But, good news for Julio -- 2 Chainz says he's gonna be sure to get Jones' new #2 jersey with the Titans ... after all, the number couldn't be more perfect.

"I hope this reaches Logan Paul. You looked good [Sunday] night! You looked really in control and you look like you could do some things in this sport."

That's Shawn Porter -- former 2x welterweight world champion -- cosigning Logan's career as a pugilist ... telling the YouTube star to KEEP BOXING!!

TMZ Sports talked to 33-year-old Porter about Paul following his 8-round exhibition fight vs. Floyd Mayweather last weekend ... and the boxing star had a message for Maverick.

"You have a built-in audience! You can make this money fighting this completion, build yourself up and then when the time is right, you say, 'Yo I'm ready for a world championship title' and I think by then, everybody that has rocked with him to this point will continue to rock with him."

Porter continued ... "He'll pull fans from the boxing arena and boom, you can't be mad at dude after that! You can't be mad at the money-making after that!"

Speaking of money, Logan previously told us he expected to make at least $20 million for the Mayweather fight.

That pissed off some star fighters (see Francis Ngannou) ... so we asked Shawn if he was upset inferior fighters were making BANK.

"You can't be mad at the hustle! I cannot knock the hustle! I'm happy for them dudes, I'm happy for them to get the money the way they've been getting it."

Richard Branson sure looks like he's putting his billionaire space race on the back burner ... 'cause the only thing he's betting on this weekend is Vegas, baby!!!

The Virgin Galactic honcho was a true ring leader Friday in Sin City, and dressed the part while roaming around his new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. It officially opened back in March, but the celebration was largely muted due to the pandemic.

But, with Nevada lifting restrictions on June 1, Branson launched his official grand opening this weekend ... dubbing it "Unstoppable Weekend." He and his crew hit up the joint and gave away tons of cool stuff, and he took selfies with guests all over the casino.

Looks like fun, but also looks like a strange way to train for a sub-orbital flight to space in just 3 weeks! We can't recall any images of John Glenn or the Apollo 11 crew at a craps table. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Remember, Branson's reportedly trying to move up his Virgin Galactic launch to the July 4 weekend in an effort to beat Amazon's Jeff Bezos out of Earth's atmosphere.

Bezos announced he and his bro will be on the first crewed flight for his Blue Origin aerospace company, which is set for July 20.

Richard Branson is out to prove he's the billionaire king of space travel, working with his team to beat Amazon's Jeff Bezos in busting out of Earth's atmosphere ... according to a new report.

Bezos announced he and his brother would be on the first crewed flight for his Blue Origin aerospace company -- the 11-minute trip is set to launch July 20. However, a report from the blog Parabolic Arc says Bezos' announcement has sparked a space race with Virgin Galactic honcho Richard Branson -- who now wants to launch his rocket-fueled flight over the July 4 weekend.

Branson's largest possible snag, according to Parabolic Arc, is that VG will first need to obtain a commercial reusable spacecraft operator’s license from the FAA.

Details of Branson's possible trip are sparse, but if approved -- he'll travel in Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo rocket plane for the journey. The billionaire has not yet spoken publicly about the trip.

One person who will certainly not find entertainment in the billionaire space race? Elizabeth Warren. We got the Senator in D.C. Thursday who said Bezos' planned trip to space is a slap in the face to taxpayers ... who she claims are basically funding the trip because Bezos doesn't pay his fair share in taxes.

Mama June's going after a dentist she claims promised to fix her teeth in exchange for some Instagram publicity, but allegedly pulled a bait-and-switch ... leaving her mouth in major pain.

The reality star's legal team has fired off a letter to a dentist in Beverly Hills. In the document, obtained by TMZ, June says she made a deal with the dentist to fly into town to get her chompers fixed ... and all she'd have to do for payment is tag him and promote his work on social media.

June's rep, Gina Rodriguez, tells us June arrived on Monday for her appointment and booked accommodations for 12 days per the dentist's suggested timeline for the procedure to fix her top and bottom teeth.

According to the letter, the Doc removed her temporary dental implants from a previous procedure but then, "after placing her in a vulnerable (and painful) position," told her he would not complete the process unless she agreed to do media appearances to endorse his services.

June's team says this was never discussed at any point before the removal of her temporary implants, and now she's scrambling to find a new dentist to complete the work because her mouth is exposed ... and she's in a great deal of pain.

June's attorney, Jeffrey R. Klein, is demanding the dentist either complete the work as agreed upon -- or pay her $35k to cover the costs of her travel and getting the work done by another dentist. If he does neither, they say their next move could be a lawsuit.

We've reached out to the dentist ... no word back so far.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is going scorched earth over Jeff Bezos leaving Earth -- she's pissed about his trip to space, and says everyone who pays their taxes should be too.

We got the Senator Thursday at Reagan National Airport, and asked her about the world's richest man adding himself to the first crewed flight to space for his aerospace company, Blue Origin.

Warren says Bezos launching himself into space is a total insult to U.S. taxpayers because the trip is, effectively, being financed by them -- while Bezos does not pay his fair share in taxes ... at least according to the Senator.

As she puts it, the Amazon honcho's laughing all the way to space.

As we reported ... Jeff and his brother are traveling to space July 20 in a rocket ship named New Shepard, and they're auctioning a spot on the 6-seat capsule, with the highest bid currently approaching $5 million.

Fact of the matter is, Bezos is worth around $190 billion -- so, regardless of how much he pays in taxes, he could more than afford a ticket aboard the rocket.

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn not only HATED the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight ... but says it seriously damaged the sport -- and now he's sounding off!!

"Absolutely f**king horrendous," Hearn told iFL TV, "I'm allowed to give my opinion. It was absolute dog s**t."

Hearn famously runs Matchroom Boxing -- and reps some of the biggest names in the sport including Anthony Joshua, Devin Haney, Gennady Golovkin and more.

And, while some industry bigwigs applauded Logan vs. Floyd for drawing attention to the sport and possibly bringing in new younger fans ... Hearn thinks it was an atrocity.

"It was just sad, it was sad. None of it ever made sense."

Hearn says he doesn't blame Floyd -- applauding the guy for making a fortune for an easy night's work -- but thinks the event left a bad taste in the fan's mouths.

Hearn says part of the blame is on the promoters and other industry professionals who aren't producing great fighters and great events.

"If we don’t make good fights, you’re going to see more and more of this," Hearn explained.

A 6-year-old boy was nearly killed when his neighbor allegedly opened fire as the kid picked up his bike from the sidewalk -- and the man's already sprung from jail after posting a shockingly low bond.

The incident went down over the weekend in Ypsilanti, Michigan -- about 35 miles outside Detroit -- where the boy, Coby, is lucky to be alive after the neighbor allegedly chased him with a sledgehammer, and then fired a gun, hitting him in the arm.

The neighbor, Ryan Le-Nguyen, was reportedly pissed Coby and a friend had left their bikes in front of his home's sidewalk. The boy's father, Arnold Daniel, told FOX2 when the boys returned to get the bikes ... Le-Nguyen went after Coby with the hammer.

Coby told FOX2, "He tried hitting me with a sledgehammer but that's not going to work because I'm too fast. (Then he) got a gun and BOOM shot me right here."

As you can see from the video ... the kids, understandably, panicked and fled when they heard the gunshot. You can hear Coby wailing in agony while another kid's screaming "Coby got shot!!!"

Coby's father said the bullet went through his son's arm, but doctors told him had it been an inch in either direction it likely would have killed Coby.

Le-Nguyen, who's reportedly beefed with the family over bicycles in the past, was arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder. He posted a $10k bond on Tuesday ... prompting Coby's angry father to ask how the bond could be so low after Le-Nguyen allegedly tried to kill his son.

Even prosecutors say they requested a $100k bond, but were shocked the judge gave Le-Nguyen $10k cash bond. Prosecutors have since filed an emergency motion to cancel the bond.

As for Coby ... he's home and thankfully expected to make a full recovery.

The car that made Justin Bieber cry is now his date night ride ... and it looks like all his tears were worth it.

JB took his wife, Hailey, out for dinner at Matsuhisa in Bev Hills Wednesday night, and he got to show off his futuristic whip -- a custom 2018 Rolls-Royce Wraith that was 3 years in the making.

The 2 arrived in style, and ya gotta think the valet driver Justin handed his keys to was pumped to give the RoboCop Rollie a spin. Or maybe he was racked with nerves.

Later, Bieber gave everyone a good look at the car's sick wheel covers and spaceship-looking features as the couple left the restaurant. Note how super careful he was not to bottom out this time!! Live and learn.

As we first told you ... the crew over at West Coast Customs masterminded the Biebs' jaw-dropping ride, and when they first showed him the finished product earlier this year ... he got a little emotional.

Work is separating Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez for the time being, but he's still making time to have some fun on his own ... he's in Las Vegas, hitting the tables and directing a project.

Check out this video we got -- Ben was at the Wynn Resort and Casino early Wednesday morning, standing alone at a table ... just the dealer and him. Unclear what game he was playing, but witnesses tell us he was in the high limit room. Naturally.

We're told casino staff was standing guard to shoo away any fans who happened to notice one half of Bennifer laying down bets around 3 AM.

The witnesses say there were no camera crews during his time at the tables ... an important detail, because Ben is actually working in Vegas too. We got more video of him Wednesday afternoon shooting something over at The Palazzo, but we're told the actor shot a ton of other scenes in the working casino, too.

You can hear someone yelling, "action" as he started walking through the casino, but a source tells us Ben is also directing the project.

While he and Jennifer have been nearly inseparable since reuniting last month, y'know what they say ... duty calls. Even they gotta pay the bills.

LeBron James' iconic #23 is no more ... the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is officially switching back to #6 for the start of next season.

So ... why the change?? Bron initially decided to gift #23 to Anthony Davis when he joined the Lakers in 2019 ... and said he would wear #6 -- a number he wore with the Miami Heat and Team USA -- instead.

Nike famously vetoed the number trade ... saying it would lose WAY too much money if the guys swapped, so they put the exchange on ice for a bit.

But, this is where things get tricky -- The Athletic is reporting AD is NOT taking LeBron's #23 and will keep #3 ... which means James' move is a bit of a head-scratcher.

There's one potential reason LBJ wants to go through with the change -- James dons #6 in the new "Space Jam: A New Legacy" flick ... so maybe he wants the movie to be as REAL as possible??

Pat Riley opened his mouth ... and now he's gotta open up his wallet.

The Heat prez has been hit with a BIG fine for comments made about a potential reunion with LeBron James in Miami ... with the NBA determining he broke the league's anti-tampering rule.

Riley -- who orchestrated the Heat's Big 3 of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh that won 2 titles in 4 years -- recently opened up about James in an interview with Dan Le Batard ... saying he'd welcome the King back to South Beach with open arms.

"I would leave the key under the doormat if he would call me and let me know that he's coming," Riley said Friday. "I would do that, but I doubt very much that key -- that key is rusted now."

He added ... "LeBron, look, he's one of the greatest of all time and for 4 years down here, if we want to go back and remember what those 4 years were like, it was 4 years in the Finals, 4 years of excitement, 2 world championships."

"It was the best time for the Heat. So, I wish him nothing but the best, and if he ever wanted to come back, I'll put a new shiny key under the mat."

Of course, LeBron is signed with the Lakers through the 2023 season, and execs aren't allowed to make comments about players under contract that could "entice" them to join their franchise.

The Association got wind of Riley's comments ... and slapped the legend with a $25,000 fine on Wednesday.

Ex-NFL star Thomas Davis Sr. claims he has surveillance video showing two men breaking into his home and stealing his expensive McLaren supercar and wrecking it ... and now, he's offering a reward for help IDing the "idiots" involved.

The former Carolina Panthers linebacker claims the security video shows two men inside his garage this week -- sifting through his things ... before getting in his McLaren and taking it for a joy ride.

38-year-old Davis claims the men eventually crashed the car ... and he posted photos to his IG page which appear to show the major damage to his beloved vehicle.

Davis says he's now offering a reward for anyone who can help him find the men.

"If any of you recognize either one of these idiots that decided it was good idea to come into my home and go through all of my cars and even steal and wreck my McLaren. I’m offering a cash reward for anyone that can help identify who these guys are!"

We've reached out to law enforcement to see if they're investigating, but so far, no word back yet.

Davis was a star in the NFL for over a decade -- a 3-time Pro Bowl selection and a 1st-team All-Pro pick in 2015. He retired after the 2020 season.

Davis reportedly made over $70 MILLION in his 15-year NFL career.

Megan Thee Stallion's about to be known as MTE -- Megan Thee Educator -- 'cause she's footing the bill for a full-ride scholarship, and will even serve as a lecturer at Long Island University.

Not that Megan's looking to get tenured, but she's definitely all in for Roc Nation's School of Music, Sports and Entertainment. Jay-Z's management firm -- where Megan is a client -- had already announced its partnership with L.I.U. would begin in Fall 2021, but now Megan is stepping up to cover 4 years of tuition for one lucky student to enroll in the Roc program.

Megan is still taking classes at Texas Southern University. Even after achieving superstardom, the Grammy winner's remained committed to graduating with a degree in healthcare administration and wants others to get a shot at higher education.

Meg says, "If I can use my resources to open doors and create opportunities for at least one student, then it's a victory. It's important that we encourage our students to pursue their passions and put them in positions to become the next game changer in whichever fields they choose."

In addition to hooking up a student, we're told MTS will actually participate as a guest lecturer for L.I.U.'s "Industry Expert Speaker Series." As for what she'll be discussing -- we're told that's TBD, but the success of hits like "Hot Girl Summer," and "W.A.P." has to be a potential topic.

We're sure she'll be wearing more on campus than the wardrobe she recently teased for her soon-to-drop "Thot S**t" music vid. Pretty sure, anyway.

Rapper Pooh Shiesty has just been arrested over a shooting that went down at a Miami club ... where cops say a security guard ended up getting shot in a dispute over money.

According to Miami-Dade County Corrections records ... the rapper was taken into custody Tuesday around 2 PM on a warrant for his arrest for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon ... a felony.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, Miami-Dade PD was called out to the King of Diamonds nightclub back on May 30 around 4 AM for a reported shooting.

Cops say witnesses told them security staff was escorting Pooh out of the building when, out of nowhere, there was an altercation between Pooh and security staff. Cops say the security manager told them the beef was over money that had apparently fallen out of Pooh's pants.

It's unclear how much, if any, money fell ... but apparently, it was enough to set off Pooh 'cause cops say they were told the Memphis MC took out his gun and fired off a round toward the ground.

Cops say one of the security guards ended up getting hit in the right ankle and was taken to a hospital. By the time cops showed up at the scene, they say Pooh had already bounced.

There were rumors going around social media that someone jacked $40k from Pooh, but the rapper put those rumors to bed, saying on IG ... "false allegations nothing never been took from me."

But, according to cops ... money is at the center of this particular incident, which resulted in one person getting shot.

Pooh Shiesty's best known for his hit track "Back In Blood" ... which has more than 154M views on YouTube. He's signed to Gucci Mane's 1017 Records. We reached out to Pooh and a rep had no comment.

The first offering Kanye West and Gap are putting out to the public is a jacket -- one you can't really bundle up in ... but it'll still cost you a couple Benjamins, plus tax.

The YEEZY Gap Round jacket has officially arrived ... the inaugural article of clothing from Ye's fashion company and the iconic American retailer that's now available for pre-order. Its debut comes on a notable date ... Mr. West's 44th birthday.

As for the structure of it, it's pretty simple. Like we said ... it's a coat -- a puffer with some billowy heft to it, made of recycled nylon material ... and, as you noticed, screams bright blue. Unclear if it'll come in any other colors, or if this is it.

The other feature folks are pointing out ... you can't zip or button the damn thing up, like at all. So, this thing's clearly just for fashion, and is clearly a shift for Gap. Oh, and it retails for $200.

Regardless of what you *thought* YEEZY/Gap gear would cost when they first announced this partnership ... here's an early indication of what may come, so ya better start saving up if you were expecting traditional Gap prices. YEEZY comes at a bit of a premium, folks.

BTW, Ye himself has been rocking this puppy lately ... he was seen wearing the puffy jacket earlier this week, no doubt teasing its forthcoming release. So we gotta ask ... you coppin'???