Shark Tank

Kevin O’Leary firmly believes Nike fully manufactured the controversy surrounding the Betsy Ross Flag shoe and Colin Kaepernick ... and he says it's brilliant.

We got the "Shark Tank" investor leaving the "Squawk Box" show Wednesday morning in NYC and had to ask him about the heat Nike's catching for recalling its special Betsy Ross Flag Air Max 1 USA sneakers.

Kevin says that while Nike made a mistake getting the Betsy Ross flag involved to begin with ... the shoe giant knew exactly what it was doing when it yanked the shoes -- creating a firestorm of free marketing. 

As you know, Kap felt the 13-star flag design prominently featured on the heel was offensive because it's been co-opted by several white nationalist groups. Nike felt Colin made a valid point and pulled the plug on the shoes. 

Zion Williamson is about to be an instant millionaire ... and who better than "Shark Tank" star and wealthy businessman Kevin O'Leary to give the future NBA superstar some investment advice!!!

So grab a pen and paper, Zion ... 'cause Mr. Wonderful is about to give you a crash course in being rich AF.

-- Hire an advisor to handle all the boring stuff ... "over time, build a real estate portfolio, some really boring bonds and some large cap to the pink stocks." ... whatever that means.

-- NO ENTOURAGE ... sorry, Drama and Turtle -- O'Leary says it's better to keep your circles small ..."Walk around with 2 people, not 20. Most of the money goes to people you forget after a while ... support your mother, not your friends!!"

-- Look rich ... "You want a sharp suit," O'Leary says. "Get a great watch ... If you wear an Apple Watch, you're 20-percent off retail when you start, before you've said anything. You wanna show them the designed flair and that gives you market value that people will want to advertise with you."

Barbara Corcoran, one of the "Shark Tank" big wigs, says she's got big plans for Jay-Z ... now that he's a freshly minted BILLIONAIRE!!! Just don't ask her about it more than once.

Barb was out Tuesday afternoon in NYC when our photog asked what she thought about Jay's accomplishment -- becoming the first rapper to reach a billion-dollar net worth. She did not knock the hustle ... telling us if anyone deserves it, it's him because of he's so hardworking.

Then, the next logical question -- how 'bout getting him on "Shark Tank"? Barbara tells us plainly ... why the hell not?! She even says she'll put in a good word for him for a future guest spot.

Considering Barbara's rep for a tough-love business mentality, it's no surprise she gave our guy the nunya-beeswax treatment when he tried to dig a little deeper on her recruiting process for Mr. Carter.

We had no idea Barbara Corcoran from "Shark Tank" was THIS twisted ... but ya gotta love a birthday party that doubles as a funeral!

Yes, that's Barbara all snug as a bug inside a casket -- her idea of a surprise for her friends and family members who had shown up to celebrate her 70th birthday last weekend. Once the shock wore off ... it looks like everyone was in on the creepy and totally morbid bash thrown in Manhattan.

Her fellow Sharks, including Mark Cuban and Daymond John and Robert Herjavec, gathered around her casket to pay their respects. Daymond even gave her a kiss!

Barbara eventually popped up to join the party ... in a Carolina Herrera gown no less. Think "Finnegans Wake" (look it up) -- she IS part Irish, after all.

As funerals have often been described as the best party you don't get to attend, BC decided to design a workaround. As she put it, "What the heck, you only die once, you might as well be around for it!"

Okay, we admit it ... we're dying to see what she does for 71.

Daymond John's dishing some business advice for Lori Loughlin's daughter in wake of the biggest college admissions scam in U.S. history ... OWN IT, BABY!!!

We got the "Shark Tank" star out in NYC and asked the fashion mogul if he had any advice for Olivia Jade ... Lori's daughter who got swallowed up in her mom and dad's federal grand jury indictment, which accused the couple of paying $500k in bribes to get Olivia and her sister into USC.

The fallout was immediate ... Olivia withdrew from USC and also lost a gig with Sephora. But, check out the clip ... Daymond strongly believes if Olivia doesn't try to hide she can definitely bounce back.

Worth noting ... it's unclear if Olivia was in on the scheme. Either way ... it's clear Daymond thinks carving out a future rests on her hands. As for any advice for Lori and her hubby, Mossimo Giannulli ... seems that's a laughing matter.

Robert Herjavec might want to invest in something that reminds him to turn on his home security system, because he didn't ... and it cost him big time.

The "Shark Tank" star's Hollywood Hills house was burglarized ... according to law enforcement sources. We're told a thief or thieves hit his pad last weekend, busting in through a window and making off with more than $100k worth of jewelry, cash and some other items.

Our sources say Herjavec's security alarm was not activated at the time of the break-in, so cops weren't called to his place until he got home and discovered it. We're told it's unclear if this heist is connected to other burglaries in the area.

Shame, Robert and the rest of his 'Shark' pals didn't strike a deal with the inventor of Ring (which used to be called DoorBot) when he was on the show. One of those would've come in handy.

As we've reported, there have been a ton of non-celeb and celeb break-ins in the L.A. area for more than a year now -- and 10 gang members were charged with being part of a group targeting homes of the rich and famous.

Who better to promote butt wipes than a guy named Cory "Poop" Johnson?!

That's what the guys at Dude Wipes thought -- and reached out to the Canadian Football League player to help push their personal hygiene line.

Of course, Poop -- a defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts -- got his legendary nickname after a famous interview during his college days at Kentucky, where he admitted he poops like 5 times a day.

"I try to poop, like, 5 times a day, 3 times a day. It’s hard to keep weight when you’ve got so much going out," Johnson said at the time.

Enter, the guys at Dude Wipes -- which burst onto the scene after an appearance on "Shark Tank" where Mark Cuban made a $300k investment for 25% of the company!!!

We're told the Dude Wipes guys sent Poop a bunch of free products -- you can see the pics -- and the assumption is they'd like to have some sort of business relationship moving forward.

It's not a bad investment for Dude Wipes -- the 26-year-old is a pretty solid player with the potential to make the jump to the NFL if he balls out in Canada.

And, now that he doesn't have to worry about how to keep his booty hole clean, he can spend more time crapping all over quarterbacks.

Kevin O'Leary does NOT agree with Colin Kaepernick's kneeling -- but he DOES respect a good financial haul ... which is why he's praising CK for settling with the NFL.

"I think the outcome was good for him," the "Shark Tank" star told us on his way out of Craig's.

"He was not the best QB in NFL history, but he monetized the situation in a good way. And, I appreciate that as an entrepreneur."

The terms of Colin's settlement are confidential -- but some NFL reporters are saying CK walked away with close to $100 MILLION for agreeing to end his collusion case.

Kevin says Colin has turned himself into a brand -- which is REALLY hard for pro athletes to do.

But, when it comes to Colin's chances of making an NFL roster, Mr. Wonderful says there's "not a chance in hell" he ever makes it back to the league.

"He will never play in the NFL ever. Not in this lifetime and not in 10 lifetimes."

As for Colin, he has yet to speak about the settlement -- but took a photo with his legal team the day after his announcement ... and judging by the smile on his face, he sure seems like a guy who thinks he won.

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.