Amanda Nunes I'm The G.O.A.T. 🐐 ... Man or Woman

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LET'S RUMBLE

Amanda Nunes believes she is the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time... but if you don't, that's cool with "The Lioness."

TMZ Sports talked to 35-year-old Nunes, who is returning to the Octagon in the main event at UFC 289, and asked her who she believed was the greatest ever.

Amanda didn't mince her words ... "Me."

Of course, it's a subjective question ... it can't be definitively answered. In the wake of Jon Jones going up to heavyweight and dominating Ciryl Gane with ease, a lot of fight fans, including Dana White, have declared "Bones" Jones the greatest.

Others in the conversation are Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson and Georges St-Pierre, in addition to Nunes.

Amanda, who won back her belt vs. Julianna Pena in July, will fight 35-year-old Irene Aldana Saturday night in Vancouver. We asked Nunes, who has done everything in the sport (double champ, beaten "Cyborg", Ronda Rousey, V. Shevchenko), if retirement has entered her mind.

The short answer is no ... 'cause Amanda says she still enjoys the "feeling" of a fight, and "process" of preparing.

"I wanna keep doing this because this is what makes me alive, keeping me fresh, keeping me on my toes. I love the competitions and I don't see anything after this fight so I guess I'm gonna go through this, get my belt back home, and get right back to the next."

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the upper hand

We also talked to Irena, who is on a mission to stop the belt from going back to Florida with Nunes, and she made it clear she isn't content with simply sharing the Octagon with Amanda. She wants to win.

And since her teammate, fellow Mexican fighter Alexa Grasso, won the belt by beating another dominant champ in Valentina Shevchenko, Aldana has faith that it's possible.

"I learned a lot from [Alexa] and I love the way she handled all these things. She had the world against her and nobody gave her a chance and she showed the world."

FYI, Grasso was a huge underdog ... and so is Aldana.

But, Alexa won ... and that's Irene's plan, too.

"[Grasso winning the belt is] a big motivation for me."

Blueface Robbery Case Allegedly Swiped Fan's Phone ... After Chrisean Beat Her Up

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Blueface might not be locked up at the moment, but if the new details about his recent Las Vegas robbery charge are true ... his freedom could be in jeopardy.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Blueface, his pregnant girlfriend Chrisean Rock and several others in their entourage are accused of assaulting a woman ... on May 29 inside the Palms Casino.

Cops say the woman walked up to Chrisean and professed her love for the reality star, and congratulated her on her pregnancy ... but also proclaimed she didn't care for Blueface, and added a "F*** him" for good measure.

According to the report, Chrisean didn't appreciate the verbal jab at her man, and punched the woman in the left side of her face. Cops say Blueface then snatched her phone, put it in his back pocket and mockingly said, "This is mine now."

Officers say the woman was able to retrieve her phone from Blueface, but claims another man in the entourage clocked her with an uppercut!!!

During the melee, Blueface allegedly kicked the woman in the face and chest until security intervened ... and Blue, Chrisean and co. fled in a Dodge Charger.

Responding police officers reviewed hotel surveillance footage, as well as the cell phone footage showing the moment Chrisean hit the woman.

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PROPER PICK UP

As we reported, Blueface got arrested Wednesday while in court for another, more serious, case -- he's charged with attempted murder for a shooting incident last year outside a Vegas strip club.

He's since posted bail, and interestingly, it wasn't Chrisean who picked him up outside jail ... it was Jaidyn Alexis, the mother of his 2 kids and future gangsta rapper. Allegedly.

Angela Yee B. Simone's 'Paid' Mourning For Jacky Oh ... Reeked Of Incredibly Poor Taste!!!

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Angela Yee was no fan of B. Simone's attempt of turning her pain into profit mourning her bestie Jacky Oh's death ... and called her out on the air about the issue.

Angela and Jasmine Brand were discussing the viral fallout Wednesday from B. Simone's recent call to her Instagram close friends' circle ... where she encouraged followers to join her behind a paywall to get a glimpse of her grieving process.

Fans were calling for B. Simone's head this week over the post and Angela thinks the social media influencer's timing couldn't have even been more off, despite being broken up over Jacky's abrupt passing.

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TMZ broke the story ... Jacky died in Miami, and since-deleted photos of her with a cosmetic surgeon have caused fans to believe she may have died following some kind of procedure.

D.C. Young Fly, Jacky Oh's longtime partner and father to her three kids, broke his silence this week in a statement ... "We thank everyone for their well wishes and ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

We discussed Jacky Oh's passing in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Chris Paul My Daughter's Bullied In School ... All Over My Ring-Less Career

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GOTTA GET BACK TO WORK

Chris Paul says his championship-less career is really starting to affect his family ... revealing his daughter is now actually getting bullied in school over it.

The Phoenix Suns star went into detail about the sad situation on "The Pivot" podcast this week ... explaining his 10-year-old has been receiving hate from classmates following yet another season without a title for the 38-year-old.

"She had a little boy, whatever, at school that said some reckless stuff to her," Paul said. "He was like, 'Your daddy ain't never gon' win no championship.'"

Paul said his little girl kept it cool while at the school -- but she later gave him a phone call about it.

"She was upset," he said. "I had to have that conversation with her and talk to her and tell her, like, 'Baby, some people talk and some people do.'"

Paul got emotional as he spoke about the matter ... but he vowed to work as hard as possible to change it all at some point.

"It's tough man, but can't nobody ever be harder on me than I am on myself," he said ... before adding, "As mad as I am and whatnot, I cannot let that define me. Right? I got to get back to work."

Despite no rings, CP3 has had a helluva career nonetheless. The 2005 first-round pick has made 12 All-Star games, nine All-Defensive teams ... and he was even named to the Association's 75th Anniversary Team.

AKA a whole lot of stuff no one should ever be trash-talked about.

Pete Davidson Leaves PETA Unhinged Voice Mail ... 'F*** You, Suck My D***'

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Pete Davidson is going to war with PETA over the new dog he bought, and he fired the latest shot via a profanity-laced voice mail for the animal rights group -- a move he doesn't regret, but says came from a place of grief.

PETA says the actor left the heated message Monday for the org's Senior VP of Cruelty Investigations, Daphna Nachminovitch. He got her name because she'd issued a statement to TMZ, expressing PETA's collective disappointment in Pete buying a puppy at an NYC pet store instead of adopting from a shelter.

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PUPPY PICKUP

On the voice mail, Pete announces himself and says he's responding to Daphna's statement, which he calls uneducated and premature. He notes he's allergic to dogs -- as his rep told us -- and that's why he had to get a cavapoo, a nearly hypoallergenic breed because they don't shed.

He also says the dog is for his mother, whose previous pup just died.

Then comes an expletive-laced diatribe that might rival Christian Bale (not really, though) ... in which he angrily tells Daphna to do her research before talking to media, drops an F-bomb and makes a vulgar suggestion involving his penis.

PETA isn't backing down, though, telling TMZ, "If Pete had done his research, he would know that there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog, that at least a quarter of dogs in shelters are purebreds, and that Petfinder has listings for homeless dogs of every breed under the sun, including the one he purchased."

We contacted Pete about his furious voice mail, and he admits he was unaware he could "adopt a specific hypoallergenic dog." He says he was told "it wasn't an option, and if it was, it was rare."

As for his anger, he addressed that by emphasizing his family was really going through it after his mother's dog died -- "I haven't seen my mom and sister cry like that in over 20 years. I was trying to cheer up my family. I was already upset that the store had filmed me without my permission or acknowledgement. Then this organization (PETA) made a public example of us, making our grieving situation worse. I am upset. It was a poor choice of words. I shouldn't have said what I said, but I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family."

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Prior to Pete offering that explanation, PETA told us ... "Our hearts go out to the Davidson family for the loss of their dog, but Pete must know in his heart that there's no excuse for buying a dog and propping up the puppy mill industry when millions of dogs await loving homes in shelters, and we hope he'll do the right thing and adopt next time."

It's clear neither side is blinking in the shop vs. adopt a dog debate.

College Baseball Fan Drops Toddler On Head ... In Doomed Pursuit Of Foul Ball

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A pursuit of a foul ball nearly turned into a tragedy for one college baseball fan over the weekend ... 'cause video shows as the man was hightailing it for a souvenir, he dropped a little boy on his head.

The scary scene happened on Sunday afternoon during the Campbell vs. N.C. State regional elimination game in Columbia, S.C. ... when in the seventh inning, Wolfpack third baseman LuJames Groover III rocketed a ball into foul territory down the first base line.

Video from the game's broadcast shows the baseball careened through a nearby concourse ... as one man holding a toddler jogged after it.

But, you can see as the guy went down to grab it, he lost his balance ... and collapsed to the ground. As he was falling, the child he was holding smacked his head hard on the pavement.

The kid seemed to be in pain ... and even the game's broadcaster noticed it all go down, letting out an audible, "Oh!" as the two tumbled to the ground.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem the boy was significantly injured.

As for the game, N.C. State went on to lose, 11-1 ... ending its season.

Jared Leto Climbs Up Berlin Hotel ... Calm, Cool & Collected!

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SPIDER-LETO

Jared Leto's not satisfied with being an actor and singer -- he's adding daredevil to his resume by skipping the stairs at a hotel, and instead climbing up its stone wall without a harness!

Jared was spotted scaling the Hotel De Rome in Berlin Monday. He wasn't super high on the wall, but he was high enough to draw a crowd ... and high enough to hurt himself if he'd fallen. He made it back down safely, though.

Unclear what the actor's intention was, although it's worth mentioning he was there with TikToker Younes Zarou -- the gang was shooting some other segments with Jared near the hotel, including a pretty rad smoke-filled shot.

It's possible his free solo climb was for their mysterious collab ... or maybe JL just got bored.

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PEDAL TO THE METAL

BTW, Jared's been a bit of an adrenaline junkie for a while now -- as we reported, he hopped in the car with NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick back in 2018 to promote a Thirty Seconds to Mars album, and he rode shotgun like a champ!

Stanley Cup Final Reporter Fends Off Annoying Fan ... 'Get The Hell Out Of My Face!!!'

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A Stanley Cup Final reporter looked more athletic than a lot of the Florida Panthers did on Monday night ... using some quick-thinking reflexes to keep an obnoxious fan out of her live shot.

The wild moment all went down toward the end of the Golden Knights' 7--2 blowout win over the Panthers in Las Vegas ... when Samantha Rivera was trying to recap Florida's loss on camera.

As the CBS Miami reporter was setting the scene at T-Mobile Arena for her viewers ... a fan tried to photobomb her shot -- and Rivera was having absolutely none of it.

You can see in a replay of her on-cam appearance, Rivera had to use a massive stiff arm to push the Knights supporter away from her shot. All the while, she repeated "Nope!" over and over again.

Eventually, the fan got the hint and bolted ... and Rivera finished her segment like a pro. Afterward, she took to Twitter to blast the guy for trying to interrupt her at work.

"Listen," she wrote, "I don't give a damn what team you're rooting for -- get the hell out of my face when I'm working and respect that I'm here to do my job."

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"Excited to get back home to some classy #Panthers fans for game 3!!" she added.

Fans all over social media lauded Rivera's actions ... with many comparing her right arm to none other than NFL star Derrick Henry's!!

No word yet if the Knights are working to identify and potentially punish the fan further ... though if anyone gets any ideas of repeating his act at Game 3 in Sunrise, FL. on Thursday night -- beware!!!

Prince Harry Absent for Opening Day of Trial ... In Tabloid Privacy Case

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Prince Harry skipped the opening day of a huge trial he's at the center of -- surrounding alleged privacy breaches via UK tabloids -- and, according to the judge, it's not a good look.

The Duke of Sussex was nowhere to be found Monday as day 1 of a trial in London kicked off, where he's the key plaintiff. Remember, this is the case pertaining to the Daily Mirror -- just one of several publications Harry is suing after years of what he claims were illegal tactics used to spy on him as a youth for consistent story fodder.

While Harry was officially expected to take the stand Tuesday, the magistrate in this case -- Judge Timothy Fancourt -- had actually instructed PH to be there from the jump ... just in case they got through opening statements quickly and could get to his testimony sooner than later. Fancourt reportedly said he was quite surprised by the Prince's absence.

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As for why Harry bailed, his attorney told the court his travel arrangements were hindered by security requirements ... not to mention his daughter's bday party. Lilibet turned 2 over the weekend, and Harry is said to have hopped on a plane to London right after that.

Despite apparently being in town, Harry's lawyer says he wasn't able to appear in court -- something that the attorneys for the Daily Mirror scoffed at ... as they were prepared to grill him about the articles he claims they ran that allegedly stemmed from dirty journalism.

No word on whether Harry will be punished or admonished by the court for his no-show ... but he'll presumably be there in the flesh tomorrow, and this train can really get going.

Kanye West Yells at Paparazzi Following Him ... As He, 'Wife' & Son Go to 🙏🏽

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Kanye West and his family wanted to touch base with the man upstairs this weekend -- but it appears they were interrupted by the paparazzi ... which set Papa Bear off.

The rapper-producer was heading to church Sunday in L.A. with his "wife," Bianca Censori, and at least one of his kids -- 4-year-old Psalm. They were being hounded by photographers the whole time ... and at one point, Ye had to stop his car and deal with them himself.

It's unclear if this happened while he was going to church or leaving -- but, in any case, it got ugly on the side of the road ... where KW berated some of the paps tailing him.

In video, obtained by TMZ, you can see and hear Ye losing it -- yelling at the paps and demanding that they stop following him. He even used an expletive to get his point across.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they left him alone ... because photos later popped up that show Ye and co. at what seemed to be their final destination. In the lot of whatever facility they were at for church, Ye could be seen playing with Psalm ... who brought his bike.

Bianca, meanwhile, was standing right next to them ... and she had an interesting outfit on, as did Kanye. It seems like whatever service they were going to might've been themed, because others who were heading inside also appeared to be thematically dressed.

It's great to see Kanye doing the dad thing as he and Kim continue to coparent/blend families -- but it's a bummer that they can't do it without a lens in their face 24/7. Catch-22.

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Ye & Ice Cube It's All Good Now ... Hug It Out After Antisemitism Controversy

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Kanye West is making peace with Ice Cube ... 7 months after throwing him under the bus by claiming Cube was the one who turned him on to antisemitism.

The 2 rap icons met face-to-face Friday at Cube's home in the L.A. area -- and it definitely looks like they hammered out their differences. They hugged it out as Ye was leaving, and both guys were smiling.

You'll recall, late last year -- after Ye started his antisemitic rants -- he went on "Drink Champs" and claimed Ice Cube's social media posts inspired his dangerous bigotry.

For his part, Cube made it clear he had no idea what Ye was talking about. He tweeted, "I didn't put the batteries in his back. Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk. I'm not antisemitic and never have been."

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CHAUVIN DIDN'T KILL FLOYD

"Drink Champs" eventually deleted the episode ... as it featured Ye making several offensive rants about Jews, Trevor Noah and George Floyd.

Since then Ye has claimed he no longer hates Jewish people, although his explanation for why -- watching Jonah Hill in "21 Jump Street" -- was, at the very least, bizarre ... and, at most, highly offensive.

It's unclear if Ye apologized to Cube -- but whatever was said, they clearly parted on good terms.

Wild Smackdown Angry Husband Slaps Doctor!!! Claims Doc Sexually Assaulted Wife

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Video captures an enraged husband's mission of vengeance ... storming the stage during a medical conference to slap the hell out of the doctor he alleges committed sexual assault on his wife.

The dramatic scene played out right in the middle of the annual American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), last month in Baltimore -- and the furious man confronted the physician while he was standing at a podium delivering a speech.

The man grabbed the doctor by his shirt and smacked him across the face, yelling, "You know what you did!" You touched my wife 7 years ago in New York. Don't be an ass****, bitch!"

And it didn't stop there. The guy slapped the doctor again, and screamed, "You're lucky this is America, because if this was Brazil, I'd kill you!!!"

He then headed for the exit with his wife, but continued to scream and point at the doctor, who did not appear to be injured, but was totally in shock.

Onlookers were also stunned, and one woman called for security as the husband charged back toward the doctor, shouting profanities.

Police did respond, and while the doctor didn't want to press charges, he requested the cops remove the husband from the premises. The doctor was not named, but he's reportedly a gynecologic oncologist at a New York hospital.

Organizers of the ACOG conference issued a statement condemning the violence and apologizing to anyone traumatized by the incident.

Juvenile How Dare Essence Fest Snub Me In NOLA?!? Promotes Competing Fest

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Juvenile isn't taking news of being omitted from this year's Essence Fest lineup well ... and would rather New Orleans residents spend their money at the Donna Fest, where he and Mannie Fresh will be performing!!!

On Friday, Juve ripped the popular summer shindig a new one on Twitter for its tremendous artist lineup being devoid of any of Cash Money's flagship artists, i.e. the Hot Boys.

This year's EF is boasting a 50 Years of Hip Hop celebration with legendary acts such as Missy Elliott, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, T.I. and Remy Ma -- but none of that matters to Juve, who encouraged fans to go with the less expensive Donna Fest, with tickets starting at just $25.

At the time we're posting ... 3-day EF passes are sold out, and the 1-day tix start around $90.

Rebirth Brass Band and the "400 Degreez" rapper's son, Young Juve, will also be performing. Both events go down during the first weekend of July so the city will be lively, to say the least.

We reached out to EF to see if they'd reconsider including the OG Cash Money crew, but no word back yet.

Soccer Ref, Family Harassed & Heckled At Airport ... After Europa League Final

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A Premier League soccer referee and his family were mercilessly heckled, and even had a chair thrown at them, by out-of-control AS Roma fans ... and now local police have launched a criminal investigation.

The incident occurred in Budapest ... where 44-year-old ref Anthony Taylor, who is English, was in a cafe with his family, waiting for their flight. Unfortunately, several Roma fans recognized Taylor, and that's when things turned ugly.

Several videos show Taylor, who appears to be with his wife and several other people, getting shouted at by a large group of "fans" as airport authorities attempted to whisk them to safety.

At one point, a fan even threw a chair towards Taylor.

"The Italian citizen involved in the incident was apprehended by the police and criminal proceedings have been initiated on charges of affray," the airport later announced in a statement.

The Roma fans were upset their squad lost to Sevilla by penalty kick after ending regulation tied 1-1 in the Europa League final. Taylor handed out 13 yellow cards during the game.

After the game, but before the airport incident, Roma manager Jose Mourinho was seen confronting the referee in a parking lot, hurling expletives at him.

Mourinho could face a fine and/or suspension for his behavior.

As for the ugly behavior at the airport ... it's drawn widespread rebuke from everyone from the referees union to the Premier League itself who blasted the fans for the way they acted.

"[We're] aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport," the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said.

"We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final."

The Premier League also issued a statement, saying they were "shocked and appalled by the unacceptable abuse" Taylor and his family endured.

The PL added Anthony is one of their most accomplished and experienced officials, saying  "No one should have to suffer the inexcusable behavior they had to endure."

Thankfully, neither Taylor nor his family were physically hurt.

Damian Lillard Cosigns Jeff Van Gundy ... Let's Get Rid Of Halftime!

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Damian Lillard agrees with former head coach turned broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy ... halftime's pointless, and the league would be wise to eliminate the 15-minute break!

"I’m w [Van Gundy] on halftime lol… I do not fw it," the 7x All-Star proclaimed on social media, responding to the former Knicks coach's proposed rule change.

It was during a recent interview with The Athletic that Van Gundy suggested several substantial ways to speed up/improve the game.

"This whole idea of what goes on at halftime, I think is so misunderstood," Jeff told the outlet. "It’s a lot of either praising what just happened or correcting. But you could do that in two minutes out by the bench in an elongated timeout."

Bottom line, Jeff feels halftime is too long and drawn out, describing it as "the biggest waste of time," adding players only need time to go to the bathroom and possibly make a few adjustments, which could be done within 5 minutes.

The 61-year-old analyst didn't stop at halftime ... JVG also said the NBA should save free throws for crunch time.

“So my most radical one is to eliminate free throws until the last four minutes,” Van Gundy said. "If you get fouled on a shooting foul, you just get the points. You don’t go to the line. And you don’t go to the line for technical free throws."

While the networks probably won't love Jeff's halftime idea (commercials!) -- likely making it a nonstarter -- Van Gundy is adamant his free throw rule change needs to be adopted.

"The only person that likes free throws is a play-by-play announcer because they can wax poetically about some story. It’s the extra point of the NBA. It serves no rational, reasonable purpose."

SHEIN Removes Fake Jordan 11s ... Blames Third-Party Sellers

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SHEIN is taking swift action after being accused of selling knockoff Jordan 11s on its site this week ... with the company telling TMZ Sports the product has been wiped from its store.

The Chinese-based online fast fashion retailer recently featured athletic kicks described as "professional basketball sports shoes for men" ... which were selling for $49.99.

However, the shoes looked just like the Air Jordan 11s (which come with a $225 retail price tag) ... all the way down to the patent leather mudguard. The only key difference?? The obvious absence of the iconic Jumpman logo.

Sneakerheads got wind of the bootleg kicks ... and quickly went to social media to call SHEIN out for the item.

One person joked on Twitter saying, "SHEIN got space jam 11s y’all better get y’all a pair" while another person tweeted, "Fordan 11s to go with my Fucci bag and Folex watch."

We reached out to Shein about the matter ... and the company is placing the blame on an outside retailer.

"SHEIN takes all claims of infringement seriously and we have removed the product in question," a spokesperson said Wednesday.

"Third-party sellers are required to comply with our SHEIN Marketplace policies and certify their products do not infringe IP."

It's not the only issue the company has -- the site also appears to have bootleg versions of the MSCHF Big Red Boots, Yeezys, Balenciaga, and more.

But based on SHEIN's statement, it sounds like that won't be the case for long.