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The house Aretha Franklin grew up in now belongs to a new family, and it looks like they're gonna have as much luck there as she did -- 'cause they got a great deal on the place.

According to property records the Detroit property officially transferred hands last Wednesday when the sale closed. We're told the buyers are not celebs, just normal folks who ended up snagging the home for quite a bit less than what it was listed for a couple months ago.

Remember, it hit the market in May for $379,900 -- that was after it was originally listed in January, and then taken off the market. Welp, the new owners negotiated their way down to a final offer of $355k.

Like we said, it's a helluva bargain ... 'cause the property itself actually has a lot to offer.

It's a 6-bed, 5-bath residence with 6,000 square feet of living space, and it's got a solid brick foundation with a lovely interior. There are fireplaces throughout the pad, and you can even fit in an extra 1-bedroom unit upstairs.

As far as Aretha's ties to this address ... she lived here in her formative years, age 5 to 18. She famously came back to visit the home in 2011, reminiscing on fond memories.

The crib could use a little bit of work, no doubt -- you'll recall, it was actually abandoned for a little while, but all in all, a great investment ... especially considering it's connection to the Queen of Soul.

Justin Gaethje got congratulations messages from all kinds of people following his big win over Dustin Poirier ... but maybe the most notable to call was Donald Trump, who actually sent an invitation to the UFC star to golf with him as part of his well-wishes chat.

Gaethje said the former POTUS gave him a ring shortly after his stunning KO victory on Saturday night ... telling TMZ Sports the call was "awesome."

"He f***ing loves fighting, man," Gaethje said of No. 45. "He loves it."

The 34-year-old tells us ... Trump said he was proud of the performance that Gaethje put on -- while also saying "how impressive of a show it was."

Then, Gaethje said Trump told him he wanted to tee it up with him whenever he's in New York or Florida next.

Of course, the two have formed a good bond over the years ... you'll recall, Gaethe actually attended one of Trump's presidential rallies back in 2020 -- where Trump shouted out him and other UFC fighters in attendance during his speech. Seems their relationship has only grown stronger since.

As for what's next for Gaethje aside from a potential 18 holes with DT ... he told us there are plenty of options on the table -- including Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev ... and, yes, maybe even Conor McGregor.

Of the trio, Gaethje seemed to want Oliveira the most (assuming he's able to beat Makhachev in their title fight in October) -- telling us he'd love to avenge the loss he suffered at UFC 274 in 2022.

Before this happy baby turned into a model, bartender, and reality star, he was just growing up in Shelby Township, Michigan, heading off to serve in the Navy and eventually landing in Los Angeles.

After taking a hiatus from filming "Vanderpump Rules", this reality star recently confirmed his return to television, however, he and his partner were quite busy during their time away from the cameras ... welcoming a baby into their lives in 2021 and most recently launching the podcast "When Reality Hits."

Need one more clue? "I'm the #1 guy in this group!"

Angus Cloud's on-screen brother, fellow "Euphoria" star Javon Walton, is saying goodbye to his late castmate... and it's clear he considered Angus family outside of their work.

Javon, who played Ashtray on the hit HBO show, paid tribute to Angus shortly after we reported he died Monday at his family home.

In an Instagram post featuring an old photo of Angus and Javon hugging, Javon writes ... "rest easy brother" ... adding emojis for a heart and a dove.

Javon is also remembering Angus with an IG story ... sharing a photo of them shaking hands with the caption, "forever family ❤️."

TMZ broke the story ... Angus' family says he died Monday at their Oakland residence ... and police and fire responded to a 911 call from his mother, who reported a "possible overdose" and said Angus had no pulse.

As fans of "Euphoria" already know ... Javon's character, Ashtray, sacrifices himself to save his brother, Angus' character Fezco, in the season 2 finale.

It's one of the most powerful scenes in the show's 2 seasons -- and, it comes across as a pretty eerie fact now, but Javon told Esquire the original script called for Fezco to be killed in that scene. The change was made the night before filming.

Pete Davidson is back on the road doing what he does best ... making people laugh, something his fans are clearly anxious to see, considering he's got back-to-back sold-out shows.

Sources connected to Pete tell TMZ he's out of rehab, and doing some standup gigs this week. We're told he has 2 shows Tuesday at the Improv in Dania, FL ... in the Fort Lauderdale area. If ya don't have tickets already, sorry, they're all gone.

It's unclear when Pete left the medical facility that he checked into back in late June for mental health reasons -- but, he's obviously feeling well enough at this point to get back to performing.

It's been a bumpy time for PD ... he's juggling movies, TV, sponsorships, a new GF, and lots of other stuff in the wake of leaving 'SNL.'

And, don't forget, he just sorted out his legal issues for ramming his car into a Beverly Hills home earlier this year.

As we reported, he's doing a diversion program -- which requires him to do 50 hours of community service -- and, if he completes that the incident will be expunged from his record.

On top of all that, he had a contentious, and very public, face-off with PETA over a puppy he bought for his mother.

We'll know soon enough if he's up for discussing any of these recent trials and tribulations in standup routine ... but ya gotta figure some of it's gonna get a mention.

The lawyer for the family of the 10-year-old boy who died at Travis Scott's Astroworld concert is blasting the rapper's team for accusing cops of trying to sabotage his new album with the release of their investigation.

Bob Hilliard, the lawyer representing the family of the late Ezra Blount, tells TMZ ... "For an artist making his living with music, these are stunningly tone-deaf comments about this preventable tragedy that took so many lives and injured so many."

Ezra was trampled to death at the concert and his family's lawyer is not taking kindly to the spin coming from Travis' camp.

As we first reported, one of Travis' attorneys said the release of the Houston Police Department's 1,266-page investigation was intentionally timed to hurt "Utopia" ... a stance one of Travis' reps later doubled down on.

The Blount family's attorney feels quite the opposite, telling us ... "Of course they would only focus on how the report's release date hurts their album sales instead of the facts contained inside of the report."

One of the notes tucked inside the report catching the attention of the Blounts' attorney are text messages from a contract worker, warning an event organizer that, "Someone's going to end up dead," after seeing people get crushed in the crowd.

While Travis was not charged with a crime, Ezra's family is among those who are suing the Houston rapper ... and their attorney says the police investigation is "damning" and shows Travis is among those at fault for their child's death.

Hilliard adds ... "For Mr. Scott to allow his lawyers and spokespeople to make the reckless and untrue statement that just because he was not indicted means he's blame-free is arrogant and insulting to the memory of 10-year-old Ezra as well as the other victims of this terrible night."

Offset is fessing up that his part in the recent public spat with Cardi B might have been the result of too much booze ... and he wants fans to know he's a member of the "happy wife, happy life" club.

If you remember, Offset insinuated Cardi cheated on him -- with someone famous at that -- but walked back those comments Monday as he discussed the public blow-up with Angela Yee.

Offset blamed Cardi's NYC upbringing for sparking his anger with her "pitbull mouth," but admits he was inebriated on tequila, and alluded to lying in the heat of the moment.

He claims deleting the social media post signified he wasn't telling the truth.

Cardi also denied Offset's claims in a fiery response, and the two eventually reconciled, most recently, dropping their latest duet ... a track aptly titled "Jealously."

Offset explained he and Cardi are still husband and wife even when the cameras aren't rolling, and social media trolls do have an effect on their marriage whether he likes it or not.

He says had Cardi actually cheated, not only would he be unable to overcome the betrayal ... he'd go after her side dude!!!

As for his own cheating, Offset blamed immaturity, and lean, for that bad decision in the past.

Paul Reubens -- the comedic actor best known for playing Pee-wee Herman -- is dead after a private battle with cancer.

Paul died Sunday night, according to a statement posted Monday on his Instagram account ... a statement that revealed, for the first time, the medical crisis with which he'd be dealing -- "Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit."

We're told he had a brain tumor 6 years ago, but doctors were able to surgically remove it ... and it was considered a successful procedure. It's unclear what kind of cancer he'd been diagnosed with most recently.

The comedic icon will forever be remembered for his Pee-wee Herman character, which Paul created in 1978 during an improv exercise with The Groundlings. Paul worked with another comedy legend, the late Phil Hartman, to develop the character.

That led to the eventual launch of the "Pee-wee's Playhouse" TV show in 1986 ... and although it was Saturday morning programming, it became a huge hit with kids and adults.

He also brought the character to the big screen with the film, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," which was a huge commercial success.

The movie featured a scene with Pee-wee dancing to the 1958 hit song, "Tequila" by The Champs. The character, and that dance, were so beloved ... you can't hear that song without thinking of Pee-wee.

While Pee-wee is his most iconic role, Paul had been doing live comedy routines long before that. In addition to his time in The Groundlings, he made 14 appearances on "The Gong Show" back in the '70s.

He's also done a ton of acting unrelated to Pee-wee -- having roles in movies, like "Blow," "Batman Returns," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Doctor Dolittle" ... as well as hit TV shows like "Murphy Brown," "Ally McBeal" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

As for his cancer battle -- Paul addressed it in a note he'd written, saying ... "Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

Paul was 70 years old.

RIP

Singer Tori Kelly is on the road to recovery after being hospitalized with serious blood clots around her vital organs ... TMZ has learned she's now back at home.

Sources close to the Grammy-winning singer tell us, Tori was discharged Monday from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. and she's going home to rest.

We're told doctors still don't know what caused the blood clots in Tori's legs and lungs ... but, for now, she's feeling better.

Our sources say Tori will continue to be monitored with regular checkups, but leaving the hospital and the intensive care unit is a big step.

TMZ broke the story ... Tori was rushed to Cedars -- one of the country's premier hospitals -- last Sunday night after passing out while at dinner with friends in downtown L.A., and she was in and out of consciousness while in the hospital.

Tori previously wrote a letter to her fans while she was hospitalized, saying she was initially scared and heartbroken, but was getting better and feeling a lot stronger and hopeful.

Hollywood actors are stuck between a rock and a hard place amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike -- best exemplified by one particular thespian, who's now doing odd jobs to keep afloat.

Josh Hooks, who's been on shows like "Will Trent," "Swagger" and "The Game," among others ... joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to explain how he -- like tens of thousands of other actors and writers -- is maintaining job/money-wise during the labor stalemate.

One gig Josh has picked up is cleaning houses, plus several other odd jobs -- as he explains, it's a great time to be a jack of all trades. Sounds like Craigslist is his best friend these days.

There are methods JH and his fellow striking actors are implementing to get by during this hard time -- including leaning on each other for support, which he says entails cooking and sharing grub, or referring somebody to a new gig if there's work on the table to go around.

He also reflects on how frustrating his journey in showbiz has been in these recent years. First, his momentum from 2019 got derailed because of COVID ... which halted a lot of productions for a good long while. Now that he's got some mojo again ... it's the strike.

Despite this ... Josh fully backs his union in hitting the picket lines, adding that he's happy to serve as a voice for countless people who are fighting for better working conditions.

He's hoping these differences can be resolved sooner than later, but in the meantime -- he's clearly making do however he can ... just like so many others are as well.

Tough times.

Ludacris believes the children are our future, and he's doing his part to help them lead the way ... by making a huge donation toward the renovation of a children's theater.

Back in July, Luda performed at the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati and pledged $50,000 to the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati to help support its $48 million restoration campaign for the Emery Theater building.

Luda's lawyer, Darrell D. Miller, has ties to both the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and Emery Theater as a board member -- so, the "Fast & The Furious" star showed excellent southern hospitality by joining his cause.

Ludacris told Cincy's Local 12, "I'm drawn to the Children's Theatre's project in Cincinnati because of the plans to develop new works that hit on the topics that matter to kids today.”

He added, “The Emery project signals an incredible opportunity for more children to access the arts and see themselves in what happens on stage. As a father of four daughters and a philanthropist who's constantly investing in the next generation, I'm honored to be a part of this."

The theater is currently sitting at $30M of its $48M goal.

Music philanthropy definitely pulls at Luda's heartstrings.

Selena Gomez is posting thirst traps by sea, and her organ donor, and former BFF, is doing the same by land ... with some super sexy bikini action on a beach volleyball court!!!

Francia Raisa continued her birthday celebrations Sunday in Malibu, showing off her curves -- and her scars from the kidney she donated to Selena -- as she played volleyball with friends.

It was another scorching hot summer weekend in the 'Bu, and Francia made it hotter ... leaving little to the imagination in a skimpy swimsuit that matched her sunglasses and hair.

Francia showed off her athleticism ... serving some aces and bouncing around in the sand.

The beach day capped off Francia's birthday week, which included an olive branch of sorts from Selena, who wished her well with a social media post after their recent falling out.

As we reported ... in the wake of Selena's birthday message, Francia followed her back on social media and told paparazzi there's no more beef between them.

Now that Francia's following Selena on Instagram, she's probably seen Selena's weekend thirst traps she posted from a boat ride.

Cardi B might not get away scot-free with that microphone toss in Las Vegas -- she's now listed as the suspect in a battery ... TMZ has learned.

The woman who was struck by Cardi's mic when she hurled it into the crowd at Drai's Nightclub on Saturday ... went to Las Vegas Metro PD the next day to report the incident.

She told police she'd been struck by an item -- the microphone -- thrown from the stage. Of course, the whole incident was captured on cameras during Cardi's show.

As we reported, a woman in the crowd threw some kinda liquid at Cardi while she was performing ... and the rapper snapped, immediately throwing the mic in retaliation.

The mic struck the drink thrower, but ricocheted and also hit another woman standing next to her ... as seen in the footage.

Prior to the altercation, Cardi and her DJ had implored the crowd to splash water on her to cool her off in the triple-digit weather -- but obviously, she didn't take kindly to whatever the woman threw later in the show.

We've reached out to Cardi's camp, but no word back yet.

Story developing ...

Yung Miami's brief talk show host career has her now comparing herself to Oprah Winfrey ... albeit the City Girls rapper is proclaiming herself to be the "Black" version of the legendary journalist. 🤔

Miami makes the puzzling proclamation on an upcoming episode of "Drink Champs" ... and made it an even more confusing statement by acknowledging she knows Oprah is indeed, a Black woman.

Last year, Miami shared the "Best Hip Hop Platform" award with "Drink Champs" for her "Caresha Please" series on Revolt TV, but she's only 10 episodes deep.

Oprah was enamoring television audiences since the mid-80s ... several years before Miami was even born ... and fans told her she has a bit of catching up to do before she can be mentioned in the same breath as Lady O.

Remi Lucidi -- a daredevil known for his death-defying stunts atop skyscrapers -- has tragically passed away after he reportedly fell from the 68th floor of a building in Hong Kong last week.

He was just 30 years old.

The incident happened at the Tregunter Tower on Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post, when the thrill-seeking Frenchman allegedly snuck up to the top floors of the residential high-rise.

Lucidi -- who went by "Remi Enigma" on his social media pages -- was climbing the tower ... when he somehow got stuck outside. Per the Post, he was last seen tapping on a window, pleading for help.

A maid who had seen him outside of the building reportedly called cops ... though he fell to his death before authorities arrived.

Officers found his camera at the scene ... and it reportedly contained images of him doing extreme sports stunts. Cops, meanwhile, are still investigating the matter.

Lucidi had gained fame over the years for the way he took photos of himself in daring situations across the world, including many of him on top of buildings in Poland, Bulgaria, and even a bridge railing in Portugal.

In fact, one of his last Instagram posts before his death appeared to show him at the top of a skyscraper in Hong Kong.

Fans of his work paid tribute to the stuntman following his passing ... with one commenter writing on his IG page, "Rip brother 🙏🏼 Sad news no one ever wants to hear about a fellow explorer."

There's evidence Cardi B should've anticipated a fan tossing liquid on her in Las Vegas ... because she actually asked the crowd to douse her with water and cool her off!!!

Additional scenes from inside Cardi's Drai's Beachclub performance from her Saturday show demanding the crowd to throw water on her in between songs because she was "dying" from the triple-digit desert temps -- it got up to 105° that day, so hydration was a must.

Cardi's DJ also encouraged the crowd to hose her down and she didn't care where they soaked her -- she even bent over, and directed fans toward her, umm ... WAP!!!

Now, Cardi was very clearly asking for H2O only to be thrown at her. It's hard to tell what was in the cup that was thrown when she went completely ballistic, but the operating theory is it was booze, and not just water. BTW, the fan has been extremely apologetic since the whole thing went down.

That said, one fan is claiming Cardi clocked her with the mic, despite not being the one who threw the drink ... which could prove to be a slippery situation down the line.