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It pays to be in the Jeff Bezos’ inner circle of trust — especially if you’re his parents … and pay they did for a palace of epic proportions out in the Sunshine State.

Sources tell TMZ that Jackie and Mike Bezos -- Jeff’s mother and stepfather -- recently snapped up a massive 12,000+ square foot home within a gated community in Coral Gables, FL.

The closing price tag … $34 million! Indeed, it’s an expensive buy -- but when your son’s one of the richest people in the world, you can probably afford it. The Real Deal reports they've also purchased a home next door for $40 million.

As for the actual property itself, it’s an absolute beaut -- and worth every penny of the many millions that the Bezoses dropped for this thing. The house is multi-level, with 6 bedrooms and 7 baths. The kitchen is absolutely insanely big … it has two different islands, one for cooking and one for seating.

The rest of the home is gorgeous too -- in addition to all the usual stuff, it features an outdoor kitchen/dining area, a built-in BBQ grill, a pool, a private gym, an indoor rock climbing wall, a wine cellar and a 9-car garage … just to name a few of the perks.

This probably covers Jeff for Mother’s and Father’s Day combined for a little while -- assuming he bought it for them, which is likely. Of course, they can probably afford this place on their own too … Mike worked in the oil industry for years, and both he and Jackie have been running the Bezos Family Foundation for over 2 decades now.

Plus, reports say Jeff actually got his folks here to invest about $250k in Amazon stock way back in the '90s -- which, if true, they might have some billions of their own. So, yeah ... they’re kinda rolling in it as well, it seems.

Brittney Griner says she was aware the U.S. government warned Americans traveling to Russia was dangerous ... but the WNBA star told a court in Moscow she decided to get on the airplane because she wanted to help her basketball team.

Griner's drug trial continued in Russia on Wednesday, and the 31-year-old hooper testified to the reason she returned to Moscow in February despite the travel advisory.

"It's the most important part of the season, after the break. It's playoffs. The whole season I worked, my team worked hard to get to a good position," Griner said, continuing, "There was nothing that was going to change that for me. I didn't want to let my team down.  I did know about the 'do not fly' advisory, but like I said, there was nothing that was going to change my mind on coming back and finishing my duty for my team."

Brittney's alluding to a "Do Not Travel" advisory issued by the U.S. State Department on January 23 ... where they warned of "the potential for harassment against U.S. citizens."

Of course, despite the fact Griner played several seasons in Russia (she's a 3x Russian League champ), she's an American citizen.

BG also addressed the reason for using cannabis ... years of sports injuries.

"Because of my injuries that I've had over the long career of basketball. From my spine, no cartilage in my knee. I was in a wheelchair for four months. I broke my ankle and I also sprained my knee really bad. So I was wheelchair-bound," Brittney told the court.

"The benefits from medical cannabis definitely outweigh the painkillers that they prescribe. The painkillers have really bad side effects. Medical cannabis, there are honestly no side effects that harm you."

Griner admits the cannabis was never supposed to wind up in her luggage ... and she still isn't entirely certain how it happened.

"I still don't understand to this day how they ended up in my bag. If I had to speculate, if I had to guess on how they ended up in my bags, I was in a rush packing. I was recovering from COVID, the stress of packing, making sure I had my COVID tests. Jet lag. And I was in a rush, throwing my stuff into my bag."

Tony Dow, known for his role as Wally Cleaver on "Leave It To Beaver," has died ... a day after a premature death announcement was made from the actor's management team.

A new statement made on Tony's Facebook page Wednesday from his management reads, "We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey."

As we reported, a statement was posted on Tony's official Facebook account Tuesday announcing the death of the actor -- the statement taken down hours later after his management team learned the actor was, in fact, still alive.

As for the cause of confusion, Tony's manager tells us Tony's wife, Lauren, who was very distraught at the time, believed her husband -- who had been in hospice -- was dead.

Tony's son Christopher posted Tuesday, "Dad is at home, under hospice care, and in his last hours. My wife and I are by his side along with many friends that have visited. He has a fighting heart."

TMZ broke the story, Tony was diagnosed with liver cancer in May. An update on his cancer battle last week said it was, "... a rollercoaster of ups and downs as Tony continues his fight with cancer. Tony has been in and out of the hospital with various complications and treatments."

Born in Hollywood, California -- Tony found massive fame as Wally Cleaver on "Leave It To Beaver" which ran from 1957 to 1963. He was also on "Never Too Young" and "My Three Sons" before taking a break to serve in The National Guard from 1965 to 1968. He later reprised his role as Wally from 1983 to 1989 on "The New Leave It To Beaver."

Tony continued acting into the 2000's when he appeared in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star."

Tony was 77.

Joey Chestnut can't be stopped -- the greatest eater of all time just added another world record to his résumé ... after eating 44 Raising Cane's chicken fingers in just 5 minutes!!

Jaws accomplished the feat at the restaurant chain's new location on the Las Vegas Strip on Wednesday ... downing fowl (and even some sauce!) as the crowd cheered him on.

Of course, the spectacle was in honor of National Chicken Finger Day ... and it's safe to say no one celebrated the holiday better than Joey, who's a big fan of the food.

"The environment is as good as the food, and their chicken fingers are the best in the world," Chestnut said.

Here's the crazy part -- 44 wasn't enough to fill Chestnut ... 'cause after the clock hit 0:00, he kept eating!!

Joey is the biggest competitive eater in the world ... and is fresh off winning the Nathan's Hot Dog contest on July 4, securing his 15th Mustard Belt.

Chestnut says he'll be back to try and break his own chicken finger record ... and we believe him.

Beyoncé’s upcoming album has sprung a leak two days before it's supposed to drop around the world ... and her most loyal fans are pissed.

A French fan posted a pic of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album -- in CD format (yep, they still make those) on Wednesday -- alerting fans worldwide that the album wasn’t being confined to Friday anymore.

Songs titled "Alien Superstar," "Church Girl" and "Cuff It" began to make their rounds on social media, disrupting the natural order of the music world.

Of course, it is 2022 … meaning for the album to leak, the “fan” would have to first find a CD player, rip the tracks into MP3s and then spread them across the web.

As a method to fight the leaks, Bey's trusty Beyhive fan club sent out alerts threatening to swat down any possible leak links they see appear.

"Renaissance" marks Beyonce's first solo album in 6 years and is set to feature Jay-Z, Drake, Pharrell, Tems and more dream teamers behind the making of the music.

Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, have graced the cover of Vogue ... something many feel has crossed the line into vanity territory amid the ongoing war.

The presidential couple is featured in a digital edition of the mag that's all about Olena and her role in the conflict with Russia -- it's titled, "Portrait of Bravery: Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska" with photography by Annie Leibovitz. It's a full-blown profile of her ... as well as her husband, the Ukrainian Prez.

Of course, there are also a fair amount of photos of each of them throughout -- including single shots of Olena, and ones where they're together ... holding hands and/or posing throughout what seems to be the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv.

A lot of hard issues are addressed in the story, no doubt, and ya gotta figure the intention is to bring more awareness to the cause. All the same, the fact the Zelenskys signed up for this in the first place is getting backlash -- with folks saying this comes across as tone-deaf.

Also ... the fact that a famed celebrity photog shot them for Vogue here isn't lost on the masses either. AL has captured the most famous faces on camera, bar none.

From a basic optics stance, there's an argument this isn't a good look ... especially to Ukrainian soldiers in the field who are putting their lives on the line. Others are criticizing it for political reasons it seems ... in any case, it's getting a collective side-eye on Twitter.

Granted, this feeling of resentment for some of Zelensky's choices through this time has been bubbling for a while now. Not everyone was on board with him beaming into the Grammys earlier this year -- ditto for the circuit of international speeches he's been making lately.

Essentially, some see a lot of that as him turning this crisis into the Zelensky show -- while looking for press and pats on the back along the way -- that's the cynical view, anyway.

J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, two of the former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's death, were sentenced to prison on federal civil rights charges. Kueng was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Thao was given 3.5 years behind bars.

Kueng and Thao were convicted back in February ... remember, Kueng helped hold Floyd down as Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd for nearly 9 1/2 minutes, while Thao was on crowd control behind the police vehicle.

As we reported, Kueng and Thao were found guilty of all the charges against them ... including deprivation of rights under color of the law for failing to render medical aid to Floyd, plus failing to intervene in Chauvin's use of unreasonable force.

Kueng and Thao argued they didn't intend for Floyd to die under the circumstances and were deferring to Chauvin's seniority and experience in the situation.

Shawn Mendes has canceled the rest of his world tour ... saying he's just not ready to get back on the road again after taking so much time off.

Mendes said in a statement Wednesday, "I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away."

He continues, "After speaking more with my team and working with an incredible group of health professionals, it has become more clear that I need to take the time I've never taken personally, to ground myself and come back stronger."

Shawn then says the rest of his dates in North America, as well as those in the UK and Europe, are canceled ... though he will continue to make music.

As we reported, the singer announced a 3-week hold on his Wonder World Tour at the beginning of July, just a week after he kicked it off.

As for why he needed the break, he said ... "I felt like I was ready to dive back in, but that decision was premature and unfortunately the toll of the road and the pressure has caught up to me and I've hit a breaking point."

Shawn hinted at some struggles back in December when posted he was having a "hard time with social media at the moment, just kind of my relationship with it." However, it sounds like he's dealing with more than just social media right now.

Mama June isn't in charge of Alana Thompson -- AKA Honey Boo Boo -- these days, but says if she knew her daughter was having a weight-loss procedure, she would've shot down the idea.

Mama June tells TMZ ... "I’m supportive if this is something Alana wants to get, but I would say she needs to wait until she’s 18 years old." She also says Alana didn't tell her about her medical plans before deciding to go through with it.

As we first reported, Alana is getting a suture sculpt endoscopic sleeve next month, right after she turns 17.

Although Alana's mentioned being unhappy with her weight, June says this procedure isn't something you just jump into -- June's dealt with weight loss surgery before, but ended up gaining back 100 pounds.

She says she's going to tell Alana's sister, Pumpkin, that she should wait.

Pumpkin is Alana's guardian now, and signed off on the surgery, but June adds, "It kind of bothers me that Pumpkin didn’t tell me. If Alana wants to do it, she should wait to sign her own paperwork at 18."

June's worried money became a factor in the sudden decision, but sources close to Alana tell us the non-surgical procedure is something she's doing privately, and not for TV.

Kanye West is proving he's a good friend — just ask A$AP Bari, who’s currently riding around in a new Mercedes Maybach SUV … just days after he says he crashed his old one.

The A$AP Mob co-founder was Christmas-morning-level excited when showing off his new wheels on Instagram -- revealing he recently totaled his own car.

Kanye apparently heard about the wreck and sprung into action, surprising Bari on the spot.

If there's anyone who knows how to bounce back after a car wreck, it's Ye … his infamous 2002 crash helped to spawn the “jeen-yuhs."

Bari’s new whip is decked out ... which shouldn't come as a shock, considering Ye's Mercedes connects. If you remember, he doled out over $400,000 earlier this year for his custom Mercedes minivan that’s essentially a mansion on wheels.

Bari didn’t disclose what caused the accident but judging from the rain in the video, weather might've played a factor.

Howard Kleinberg of 'Top Chef' fame has died from a heart attack.

The kitchen wiz -- who appeared on the third season of the reality show -- passed away last week, which was made public in a local obituary. Howard's mother told the Miami Herald, "I am just finding out how many lives he touched. He was married to his passion in life, which was his cooking."

She also confirmed he'd suffered a heart attack.

Bravo addressed Kleinbeg's death as well, writing ... "The Top Chef family is saddened to learn about the unexpected passing of Howard Kleinberg from season three. Howie’s passion for cooking filled so many and our deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends."

HK is best remembered for competing in "Top Chef: Miami" in 2007, where he placed seventh. Afterward, he opened his own restaurant in town called Bulldog Barbecue -- among other eateries as well -- and found success in the local scene.

It was actually a memorable run for Kleinberg -- with one of his highlights from that season being a tense conversation he had with the late Anthony Bourdain, who was chastising him over speed in the kitchen ... only to have the tables turned on him by Howard dropping a Bourdain quote from one of his books, which left AB thoroughly impressed.

Kleinberg is survived by his mom, his stepdad, his sister and her children. He was 46.

Norman Lear is beaming with positivity after hitting a monumental milestone in his life ... sharing what life really means to him, as well as one of his favorite songs.

The TV producer and writer took to Instagram to ring in his 100th birthday, with the help of his daughter, Kate -- opening with a snippet of Dean Martin's "That's Amore" before unloading his gratitude.

Norman says it's a miracle to be living in the times we're in now, with everything that's become available to us, and believes living in the here and now is one of the most important things we can do.

Forget the past, forget the future -- being in the moment is something Norman has treasured for years, and wants everyone to do the same.

Norman's decades in TV have been nothing short of brilliant ... working on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" with legends back in the day before moving to classics like "Sanford and Son," "All in the Family," and "The Jeffersons."

Everything he touched turned to gold -- he's even picked up 6 Emmys for his work over the years as he pushed the boundaries of TV, incorporating controversial topics like abortion, mental health, and sexuality into his shows.

Little People of America -- regarded as the largest dwarfism support organization in the world -- is going after Jerry Jones following his use of the m-word on Tuesday ... demanding he issue an apology immediately.

The LPA slammed the Cowboys owner in a statement to TMZ Sports ... just hours after the 79-year-old used the term while making a joke to a group of media members at the first day of Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, Calif.

"M***** is a term that has widely been known to be derogatory for years and should be common knowledge to anyone in the public arena, such as Jerry Jones," the LPA said. "Ignorance at this point is simply not an excuse. Any use of this disparaging slur along with suggestions or insinuations that our stature exists for amusement is deplorable and inexcusable."

Jones used the term while talking about Larry Lacewell -- the Cowboys' longtime Director of College and Pro Scouting, who passed away at 85 years old in May.

Jones said he wanted to "get me somebody, a m*****" to dress like Lacewell and stand next to him out at practices.

The LPA said Jones' use of the word perpetuates "harmful stereotypes" -- and is now imploring him to say sorry.

"Those who use the term m***** or any terminology that further stigmatizes people born with dwarfism are asked to educate themselves to eradicate this word," the org. said. "Little People of America is asking Jerry Jones to issue an apology and vow to use appropriate terminology rooted in respect and dignity going forward."

So far, no comment yet from Jones or the Cowboys since he made the remark.

Jamie Foxx really knows how to bring down the house, even when he's on a break from show biz ... because he got an Italian restaurant to join him in a rowdy singalong.

The Oscar and Grammy (that's key here) winner was enjoying a night out with friends in Capri when it quickly turned into a full-blown show ... and, he definitely had the crowd going!

Jamie was in great spirits, and he was sipping some too when he got on a microphone to remind the joint who he is ... in song, of course.

In his best R&B/operatic voice he sang, "I'm Jamie Motherf***ing Foxx!!!" -- and the band quickly joined in and pretty soon the whole place was belting out the simple, and hilarious, tune.

Of course, Jamie mixed in one of his radio hits too -- singing a little bit of his "Gold Digger" chorus -- but trust us, everyone left that restaurant singing one name. You will too after watching this.

This outing, combined with his South of France yachting with a mystery lady, makes it clear ... NO ONE is enjoying summer more than Jamie!!!

Elon Musk's alleged mistress's attorney is calling bull on the affair story ... and kinda seems like he might be threatening legal action as well.

Bryan Freedman, who reps Nicole Shanahan, tells TMZ ... "Make no mistake, any suggestion that Nicole had an affair with Elon Musk is not only an outright lie but also defamatory." Freedman first spoke to DailyMail.

There's no further elaboration, but his statement says enough -- and that final line certainly suggests she might be considering her options right now ... attorneys don't use legal terms like "defamatory" unless they're mulling over a lawsuit.

As you know, Elon also denied the story outright after it was published this weekend by the Wall Street Journal -- taking to his favorite platform to bat it down in a variety of ways ... including suggesting it couldn't have been true, because he hadn't had sex "in ages."

He also said he'd just seen Nicole's husband, Sergey Brin, at a party recently ... and posted a photo of the two of them looking cool together. Until now, both Sergey and Nicole have been silent ... which wasn't helping Elon with his case.

Now, though, Nicole's officially weighing in -- and she, too, is claiming the whole thing is made up. It'll be interesting to see if anything more comes of this from either the subjects of the report or WSJ itself.

Chris Brown says the organizer of a benefit concert for victims of Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas has it all wrong -- he didn't bail only hours before the event, and he's even offering a donation to support the community.

Ms. LaJuan Bailey recently blasted CB, claiming he bailed on a March 19 show at the Toyota Center in Houston -- called "One Night Only" -- to raise money for people whose homes were damaged in the 2021 storms.

Bailey says she advanced more than $1 million for Brown's performance fees, accommodations and private plane ... only to get word he was canceling during sound check.

We've spoken to sources close to Chris and have seen a letter his legal team allegedly emailed to event organizers on March 17, informing them CB would no longer perform.

The letter states Bryson Tiller, who was also to perform at the event, had been removed from the lineup without a viable replacement, a violation of the contract Chris had in place ... so Chris wasn't going to perform.

The letter appears to have been sent 2 days before the show, not during the sound check ... when Bailey claims she found out. It's unclear if her team knew earlier and just hadn't told her.

Now, our Chris sources say both sides have been in negotiations to settle the situation -- with Chris offering to make a 6-figure donation to a Houston-based charity, but no agreement's been made yet.