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Did you know ... Michael Phelps got a $1,000,000 bonus check for racking up 8 gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing???

Neither did we ... but it's true -- and what's even cooler is the way Phelps spent the money.

"10 years ago after winning 8 golds in Beijing I received a million dollar bonus," Phelps said on Instagram.

"There was one thing and one thing only that I wanted to do with that bonus. I started the [Michael Phelps Foundation]."

Phelps says the foundation was initially created to teach the importance of water safety and how to live healthy and active lifestyles.

But since then, Phelps has dealt with substance abuse and mental health issues -- and says he's drawing from his own experience to help others.

"Since becoming aware of the importance of my own mental health we have worked hard to add a mental health awareness component. I’m incredibly proud of how far my foundation has come, but there’s still more work to be done!!!"

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott will have a direct shot at Nicki Minaj during the VMAs ... this after Nicki blasted them for cheating her out of the top spot on the Billboard chart.

The seating chart for Monday night's VMAs plays like some high school drama. Roughly 24 hours after Nicki went nuclear on Travis and Kylie, they'll be sitting within inches of each other at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

ICYMI, Nicki went off on Travis Sunday, blaming Kylie and her daughter, Stormi, for rocketing Travis to the top of the Billboard Chart with his album, "Astroworld," which came out 2 weeks ago. Nicki's convinced Kylie's strong social media presence is what pushed Travis over the top and firmly believes the No. 1 spot woulda been hers if not for Kylie and Stormi.

Grab ya popcorn.

Matt Barnes just hit Mario Chalmers with an epic diss ... telling the ex-Miami Heat star he straight-up has MOOBS!!

It all went down in the comments section of Chalmers' latest IG post -- an innocent pic of a shirtless Mario announcing he's about to have a baby with his girlfriend, Paijey Baby. She's 7 and a half months preggo!

Barnes -- who played with Mario in Memphis in the 2015-16 season -- was one of the first to see it ... and decided to celebrate with a friendly body shaming zing.

"Congrats bro! I see you carrying the milk for her," the ex-NBA star wrote.

Barnes went on to hit Mario with a "jk" and some playful emojis.

FYI ... Mario's been steadily taking Ls of this nature throughout his career -- with even Barack Obama getting in on the act at the White House in 2014!!

Bam Margera was 7 months sober ... until he got robbed and needed a drink.

Bam just HAD to crack open a cold one after being jacked at gunpoint in Cartagena, Colombia.

The "Jackass" star says he got robbed of $500 during a shady taxi ride from the airport. He was traveling alone ... and sounds fortunate to be alive.

Bam had been on the wagon since checking into rehab in January following his DUI arrest in Los Angeles.

One Republic has made one enormous gesture.

The band donated $100k to help cover medical costs for the victim of a shooting ... TMZ has learned.

The woman -- who has not been identified -- was shot in Nashville, TN last week and is in critical condition. She's the wife of a team member of One Republic.

One Republic is leading the charge in raising funds for her medical costs. The band is asking people to donate to a GoFundMe ... roughly $170k has been raised in just 5 days.

Dierks Bentley also chipped in $2,000.

The victim has undergone multiple surgeries and lost her spleen ... but her condition is not life-threatening.

Rihanna's never one to play second fiddle ... unless of course she's at her best friend's wedding.

RiRi hit up Barbados over the weekend where she was a bridesmaid at her best friend Dr. Sonita Alexander's wedding. Rihanna couldn't help but throw her hands in the air when she made eye contact with her BFF, who also raised her hands while riding in a 1960 MGA Coupe driven by her father.

The Barbados Babe -- who has known Sonita since they were 11 -- wore the hell outta this blue dress in yet another example that her wardrobe's got serious range.

BTW, remember this badass pose? She was a bridesmaid back in 2015 at another good friend's wedding in Hawaii. She was front and center ... cig hangin' from her lips.

If you're rooting for Black Chyna and Tyga to get back together ... well, you could be in luck.

Blac Chyna and Tyga reunited Sunday night in NYC ... and it looks like they called a babysitter.

The former couple -- who have a son, King -- sent the weekend out in style. They dined at Meatpacking District hot spot Catch NYC ... and then met up again at Marquee New York nightclub as they partied into the early morning.

Reality TV and a border wall??? This has Donald Trump written all over it.

"Celebrity Big Brother" over in the UK dressed contestants as border patrol agents and had them build a wall ... then they tried to stop intruders from getting their hands on a green card.

Trump even made an appearance ... sort of.

Someone on the production team dressed up as Trump ... then hopped over the wall and snagged a green card before the housemates shut him down.

The makeshift border wall split the house in two ... and everyone seemed to have their fun at Trump's expense.

The wall featured a striking image of the American flag ... and at least one contestant was NOT DOWN with the segment.

Trump wasn't the only political figure to be lampooned ... there were also impostors of Melania Trump and Queen Elizabeth. Trump is hated by many in England for a variety of reasons.

Asia Argento -- one of Harvey Weinstein's first accusers and a prominent figure in the #MeToo movement -- reportedly paid off her own accuser, a then 17-year-old boy.

The NYT cites documents it obtained outlining an agreement between Argento's lawyer and her accuser's attorney to pay former child actor Jimmy Bennett -- who once co-starred alongside Argento in a 2004 film -- $380,000 over multiple installments.

The Times reports Bennett's attorney reached out to Argento's camp late last year -- shortly before Ronan Farrow's bombshell New Yorker piece -- stating an intent to sue ... and describing alleged "sexual battery" between Argento and Bennett in 2013 -- when he was only 17 years old. He's 22 now.

According to the Times, the documents claim Jimmy met Asia at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, CA on May 9, 2013 and that she proceeded to give him alcohol, kiss him, push him back onto the bed, perform oral sex on him ... and then climb on top of him to have intercourse.

Argento has photos of her and Bennett on her social media account from the day in question. One post shows a photo of the two of them with her caption reading "Happiest day of my life reunion with @jimmymbennett xox". The Times says Bennett's lawyer claimed his client had more photos, one of which allegedly depicts both of them lying topless in bed from that day.

According to the Times ... Argento agreed to pay Bennett $200,000 this past April as an initial installment for the copyright to the risque photo that was in his possession. The Times also cites an email written to Argento from her lawyer saying ... "Ultimately, you decided against the non-disclosure [NDA] language because you felt it was inconsistent with the public messages you’ve conveyed about the societal perils of non-disclosure agreements."

The alleged email ends with this ... "Bennett could theoretically tell people his claims against you. However, under this agreement, he cannot sue you for them. Nor can he post the photo of the two of you. At the very he is not permitted to bother you for more money, disparage you or sue -- so long as you comply with your obligations in the agreement."

Don't expect Cardi B to make a triumphant return to rap at the VMAs Monday, 'cause her appearance won't include a performance ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the production tell us Cardi will in fact open the VMAs Monday as has been announced, but she won't be rockin' the mic for MTV. We're told she will either do a monologue or partake in some sort of skit instead.

Many speculated the show would mark Cardi's first musical performance since giving birth to baby Kulture ... but it just ain't happening.

Speaking of Kulture ... we're told she won't be making the trek to the show with mom either.

It's unclear whether or not Cardi's gig will be in the flesh or a pre-taped segment ... but one thing's for sure, fans will finally get their long overdue Cardi fix.

12:02 PM PT -- According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- cops discovered a lunch box in the vehicle that contained weed. The docs say Davidson's friend also had a "white/yellow substance in a clear plastic bag" that tested positive for marijuana.

Pete Davidson was pulled over by cops in Upstate New York ... but even though he was behind the wheel it was his boy who ended up going to jail.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Pete and his friend were driving in Syracuse around 4 AM last weekend where Pete was filming "Big Time Adolescence" with Machine Gun Kelly. It's unclear why, but cops ordered him on the side of the road. We're told officers smelled weed ... triggering a search.

Sources say Pete passed a field sobriety test, so he was in the clear. His friend, however, wasn't so lucky.

According to an arrest report -- obtained by TMZ -- the friend was booked for felony possession of a controlled substance and cited for unlawful possession of weed. As for the controlled substance ... cops aren't saying what they found.

Here's what we don't know ... there were drugs in the car, but we don't know why cops fingered the passenger.

One of the most famous brothels in the world thinks it can help Tiger Woods get over the hump ... by humping.

Tiger is getting dangerously close to returning to his old dominating self -- and Sheri's Ranch thinks his rampant sex habit gave him the confidence to kill it on the links.

"We all love Tiger here at Sheri’s,” Dena, the madam of Sheri’s Ranch says ... "Since Sheri’s is known for keeping secrets, there is no safer place for Tiger to indulge his unquenchable urge for sex with a wide variety of women."

In fact, they're offering up a 75% discount for the golfer on anything they offer -- and they offer a helluva lot.

Could it work? Dunno ... but it couldn't hurt.

Vivica A. Fox damn near choked on the word "No" when our camera guy told her she could play Omarosa in a movie, making it crystal clear -- not a fan.

We got Vivica A. at LAX where our photog mustered the strength to say she resembles President Trump's friend-turned-foe. The idea of playing Omarosa made her recoil. Our bad.

Of course, an Omarosa biopic hinges on how well her tell-all book sells. Vivica says if it flops, O's gotta ride off into the sunset -- on a donkey ... 'cause she attached herself to an ass.

The former home of Comedy Store founder Mitzi Shore is getting a facelift, courtesy of her son, Pauly Shore.

Pauly's remodeling the 3-story home. The stand-up comic now owns the property after Mitzi transferred it to him before she died.

The house is located directly behind The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. The renovations include vaulted ceilings in the bedrooms and extending the deck. The house needs updating -- both cosmetically and internally, and that's why Pauly's also upgrading the stuff you can't see, like plumbing and wiring.

Sources close to Pauly tell TMZ ... he's not sure what he's going to do with the home after the remodel, but it clearly needs a lot of love.

The 14 or so people injured by a tent collapse before a Backstreet Boys concert this weekend are lucky to be alive based on this woman's first-hand account of the accident ... which sounds terrifying.

We spoke with Oklahoma resident Rhonda Dunn, who was one of the at least 14 victims injured at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Saturday after an awning fell on people waiting in line. She recounts the moment the tent collapsed ... fighting back tears to do so.

According to Rhonda, she was pinned under the structure before some heroic bystanders helped lift enough of it for her to get out. She didn't walk away unscathed though -- Rhonda tells us a doctor told her she'd suffered a compression fracture on her spine.