Shark Tank

Daymond John's defending Katy Perry's "blackface" shoe design, and even says it's possible Gucci was trying to pay homage to a genre of art with its controversial sweater -- but most likely it was something more calculated.

The "Shark Tank" star was outside Craig's in WeHo Tuesday night and talked to us about Gucci's blackface debacle. Remember, Daymond has a ton of knowledge about clothing design -- see FUBU -- and he took us behind the curtain ... saying Gucci cooked up that sweater knowing what the public response could be.

His take is interesting, because he says not everything that appears to be blackface at first glance is definitely so ... but you gotta know your history.

As for Katy Perry's shoe, the business guru sides with the singer and doesn't believe it should be considered offensive or racist ... and gives a full tutorial on what does and doesn't qualify as blackface (or whiteface).

Robert Herjavec's personal customer satisfaction rating is higher for Jeff Bezos' company than Elon Musk's, so for that reason ... he gives Jeff the edge on making it to Mars first.

We got the "Shark Tank" star outside the Staples Center and asked who he'd be more willing to invest in for the next great space race. Robert tells us he used to have a Tesla, and he's had many Amazon deliveries, and based on his experience ... point Bezos.

Speaking of Amazon, Herjavec has thoughts on how its founder's pending divorce will affect the shareholders. He doesn't think much will change for now, but says the situation will impact how boards of huge companies do business in the future.

R. Kelly really should off himself in the wake of the Lifetime docuseries, but he should wait until after he gets sent to prison ... so says Daymond John, who clearly has strong feelings about this.

In what might be the harshest take yet on "Surviving R. Kelly" ... the "Shark Tank" star absolutely tore into the R&B singer Sunday, tweeting Kelly should kill himself -- but not before being convicted for his alleged crimes. He joined us on "TMZ Live" to explain his anger.

Daymond, who has 3 daughters, tells us the docuseries struck a nerve, and he couldn't help but react in such a strong manner -- namely, suggesting Kelly take his own life.

According to Daymond ... the punishment fits the (alleged) crimes. He says based on what he saw on Lifetime, Kelly must've poured millions of dollars in covering his tracks for all these years. Daymond also says this is the final straw for Kelly in his eyes ... and he needs to atone one way or another.

Check out his take ... it's definitely one that isn't easy to swallow, which is something a lot of celebs are dealing with in the wake of the docuseries. Daymond touches on race here too, speculating on whether this alleged cover-up would've gone on for so long for white victims.

He also credits the #MeToo movement for spurring this outpouring of confessions, and encourages more people to come forward and share their stories.

For the record ... R. Kelly has denied all the allegations against him thus far.

Originally Published 9:26 AM PT

Tekashi69 climbing to the top of the charts doesn't make him immune to the harsh reality -- if ya do the crime, ya gotta do the time ... so says Kevin O'Leary.

We got the "Shark Tank" star outside Benjamin Prime Steak House in NYC -- Tekashi's home turf -- and he surprised us in a couple of ways. For starters, the 64-year-old entrepreneur knows exactly who 6ix9ine is. And, get this ... Kevin's a fan.

Check it out ... Kevin -- an expert in brand-building -- says Tekashi's monumentally successful album, "Dummy Boy," means he won't have to worry about money ... even while he's sitting in a federal prison facility.

The Patriots got rocked by the Jaguars on Sunday ... and for that reason, Kevin O'Leary is OUT on them -- at least, that's what the "Shark Tank" star is telling TMZ Sports.

ICYMI -- the Pats got demolished by a team in the regular season for the first time in a long time, laying an egg in Jacksonville, 31-20.

Well ... O'Leary -- who's a huge New England fan -- sat through that whole loss ... and wasn't happy with ANYTHING he saw.

"Tom, listen to me buddy," O'Leary said of his message to the Pats Hall of Fame QB. "Pull it together, man. We can't watch that sh*t anymore. That's bad."

It wasn't just the G.O.A.T. that drew O'Leary's ire ... 'cause the businessman also had something to say about the defense Blake Bortles shredded for four quarters.

"Defense, you guys sucked!" Kevin says. "Pull it together!"

Robert Herjavec and his ex-gf are finally seeing eye to eye -- they're both walking away from the lawsuits they filed against each other ... his for extortion, and hers for sexual assault.

According to docs, Herjavec and Danielle Vasinova filed to dismiss their lawsuits ... due to a settlement. TMZ broke the stories ... Robert sued Danielle last year, claiming she was demanding $20 million in exchange for her silence about their sex lives.

A few hours later, she sued him, alleging the "Shark Tank" star had sexually assaulted her while at an underground sex club in L.A. ... and also at home.

Both lawsuits have been dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can't be refiled.

Alex Rodriguez ain't no dumb jock -- he's a legit business mogul who should be a ROLE MODEL for pro athletes who wanna STAY rich after their playing days are over ... so says Kevin O'Leary.

The "Shark Tank" star says he was REALLY impressed with A-Rod when he appeared on the show last season ... saying, "The guy is, for an ex-athlete, very savvy on business."

In fact, Mr. Wonderful heaped all sorts of praise on the guy for figuring out how to invest and run a company while he was still playing ball ... so the transition was easy.

"He's kind of a model of what should happen to athletes," O'Leary says ... "Learn something while you're in the game, you've got your cash to reinvest it."

Kevin O'Leary straight-up says 99 percent of Facebook users don't give a damn about its data breach crisis ... and business will continue as usual in no time.

We got the "Shark Tank" star leaving Craig's Monday night and wanted to get his take on whether Facebook's latest scandal will bring down the social media giant. Kevin's adamant ... FB will NOT go down after it shockingly announced more than 87 million users -- mostly in the U.S. -- had their personal data improperly accessed by the data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

Kevin says it's simple ... a whole new generation simply couldn't give a crap.

One of the investors on "Shark Tank" says he'd shell out the dough to buy Martin Shkreli's rare Wu-Tang Clan album now that he's going to jail ... but there's a catch.

Our camera guy ran into Fubu founder Daymond John, who tells us he'd absolutely be willing to drop $2 million Wu-Tang album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" -- but wouldn't just sit on it like Shkreli did ... he'd make his money back by selling it to the public.

It's a smart business move -- the guy's on 'ST' after all -- but the record might not even be up for grabs in the long run. The feds say they'll seize Shkreli's property if he can't pay his victims restitution on the heels of a 7-year prison sentence in his securities fraud case.

Kevin O'Leary's not done getting you drunk, and he's not done riding the "Shark Tank" wave either -- 'cause he might have some wonderful drank coming your way soon.

O'Leary just applied to trademark "Mr. Wonderful" for a variety of alcoholic products, which we imagine the multimillionaire entrepreneur wants to sell to the masses. He's also aiming to sell books and pamphlets featuring the beverages.

In case you don't know ... O'Leary's nickname on the reality show is Mr. Wonderful. So yeah ... drink that in. The booze he wants to brand includes just about everything but beer -- so we might be seeing "Mr. Wonderful" shots of tequila and wine coolers any day now.

Speaking of wine ... O'Leary already has an entire collection named after himself -- otherwise known as O'Leary Fine Wines. Those retail for about $25 a bottle.

No word on what his 'Wonderful' hooch might go for, though.

Kevin O'Leary is in a pretty good mood, considering he and the other "Shark Tank" moguls missed out on a cut of $1 BILLION Amazon paid for a product they let slip through their hands.

Mr. Wonderful talked to us about whiffing on Ring, a smart doorbell company once pitched on "Shark Tank" (as DoorBot) by its creator Jamie Siminoff. Kevin proudly reminded us he's the only shark who made an offer.

Even though he couldn't close the deal, Kev has no hard feelings and says he KNEW Jamie was gonna make it big.

Now that Siminoff's a billionaire, Mr. Wonderful has some advice for him on what to do with his cheddar. Hint: It's time to swim with the sharks.

One of Mark Cuban's "Shark Tank" business partners says the billionaire always acted like a consummate pro with her ... and she'd be SHOCKED if he really did know about the horrible things happening with the Dallas Mavs.

We spoke with Raven Thomas who got Mark to invest in her gourmet food business -- The Painted Pretzel -- during a 2012 episode of "Shark Tank."

Thomas had nothing but positive things to say about her 6-year work relationship with Cuban -- and says he's always been a respectful partner and honorable business owner.

In fact, Thomas says she was "shocked" by the allegations that the Mavs' front office was a nightmare for women ... saying, "I would be surprised, shocked if he had any knowledge of this and didn't do anything about it."

Thomas says she's also spoken with other people who work with Mark and has not heard anything negative about their experiences.

The company Mark Cuban handed $2 million dollars on "Shark Tank" to scare the living daylights out of people ... is now getting sued for an allegedly terrifying injury.

Ten Thirty One Productions famously creates frightening Halloween experiences, and one of them was on NYC's Randall's Island in 2016 -- the Haunted Hayride. A woman who was attending says a fog machine fell during her fright night ... and banged her on the head.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, she says she suffered serious and permanent injuries that have prevented her from performing her regular duties.

She's suing Ten Thirty One -- which also produces the "Great Horror Camp Out" -- to compensate her for her medical costs, plus damages. She is not suing Cuban.

One of the guys who successfully pitched the Paint Brush Cover to Mark Cuban and the rest of the "Shark Tank" team got swept up in a cocaine bust this week.

John DePaola was arrested Sunday as part of a massive drug bust in New Jersey in an operation prosecutors are calling Operation Snowball. Law enforcement officials believe DePaola is one of 9 people tied to a cocaine distribution ring.

The group was allegedly moving about one third of a kilo per week. Cops say they confiscated more than 700 grams of coke, and $14,943.

"Shark Tank" star Robert Herjavec says an ex-girlfriend of his is trying to exploit the Harvey Weinstein/Hollywood sexual harassment scandal by extorting him for millions of dollars over what he says are false claims of sexual assault.

Herjavec has sued Danielle Vasinova, whom he dated from 2013 to 2015. He says when he ended the relationship she became a woman scorned and threatened to go public with false claims he gave her herpes and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Herjavec says at one point she demanded $20 million in return for her silence, and he told her to kick rocks. He says at one point she reduced her demand to $5 million which he squarely rejected.

He also says she sold a story to the National Enquirer about his romp with her at a sex fantasy club. Herjavec says in Sept., 2014, Vasinova invited him to the sex club, telling him it was "a legitimate, fantasy experience ... innocent fun." He went, and consented to be strapped to a table and blindfolded, after which he was tickled with a feather.

Herjavec says unbeknownst to him, Vasinova took pictures of him while he was blindfolded, which she used in her extortion attempt.

Herjavec says after her extortion attempt failed he didn't hear from her for a while, until Monday, when he got a letter from her attorney saying Vasinova was threatening to reignite her assault claims. The letter says, "she bears full awareness that the problems plaguing Hollywood are far bigger than she is, and appreciates fully that her willingness to come forward now will not only be cathartic for her, but will go far in serving the interests of other women and men who have not yet found their voices."

According to the lawsuit, the letter goes on to suggest an "informal resolution" -- which Herjavec interprets as renewed extortion.

They're not just money partners, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Cuban have been actively mentoring Chris Gronkowski ever since making a deal for his Shaker Cup Company on "Shark Tank."

Chris -- supported by Rob Gronkowski and the rest of his musclebound bros -- sold 15% of his Ice Shaker biz to A-Rod and Mark for $150k on Sunday's show (which was taped months ago).

TMZ Sports spoke with Chris (who also played in the NFL) to find out how his new business partners are REALLY like to work with off camera ... and it sounds AWESOME!

"It's a dream," Gronk says ... explaining that both sharks are extremely accessible to him and usually email back within 10 mins when he's got a question.

But it wasn't all sunshine and roses on the show -- Chris says one of the sharks he turned down gave him TERRIBLE advice ... and he's definitely putting her on blast now!