Money

Ariana Grande is laying down the law on concert photographers for a perfectly good reason -- she's been taken advantage of by greedy photogs in the past ... and she's over it.

Sources connected to the "thank u, next" singer tell TMZ ... Ariana's new concert photo policy stems from years of being exploited by a number of photo agencies that would often shoot photos of her in concert ... and then turn around to use those to make a profit.

Here's how it would happen ... we're told Ariana would perform, photogs would take as many pics of her as they wanted ... and then, shortly after, merch she didn't approve of would hit the streets with those photos emblazoned on the items. AG never saw a dime from any of it.

A few examples include calendars, photo books, memorabilia and other items that never got the green light from Ari, or her team.

Our sources say after multiple incidents, she and her camp made the decision to tighten things up in the pit. Of course, the National Press Photographers Association doesn't like this new policy one bit -- which is pretty strict -- but we're told Ariana couldn't care less.

Aside from the new rules she has in place, Ariana and her team also have their own in-house photog, and are happy to distribute whatever photos these publications want ... so long as they're approved by her.

While we're told it was only a handful of bad apples who crossed the line with their photo privileges, it was more than enough for Ariana to switch things up.

Dana White says he will not offer Conor McGregor a stake in the UFC to lure the fighter out of retirement ... telling us, "That's never gonna happen."

McGregor announced his retirement on Twitter Monday night -- days after he reiterated his demands to get a slice of the UFC as a part owner instead of a fight paycheck.

White appeared on "TMZ Live" on Tuesday and said he's NOT trying to go to war with Conor -- but he ain't giving away ownership stakes either.

White says if Conor wants UFC ownership, he needs to BUY stakes in the company like everyone else.

"Listen, if you want to own a piece of the company, you have to put up the money to buy a piece of the company," White explained ... "That's how it works."

White says he was surprised by Conor's retirement tweet -- "it came out of nowhere" -- and insists he and Conor are still on good terms.

"I've never had a bad conversation with Conor McGregor since he's been in the UFC."

White is also not concerned about the state of the UFC if Conor is serious about retirement ... saying there will ALWAYS be big stars who take over when other stars leave.

D.L. Hughley is coming out swinging for Dr. Dre ... telling us Dre's daughter needs to appreciate the fact he "pushed" her to go to USC, and also that her dad can afford to LEGALLY grease the wheel for her.

We got the comedian at LAX, and our photog asked him about Dre deleting his post throwing shade at Lori Loughlin and all the other parents swept up in the college admissions bribery scandal.

D.L. says the rap mogul shouldn't apologize for donating $70 million to the University -- and adds even IF that helped his daughter, Truly Young, get in ... it's the least USC can do!!!

As for Truly saying her dad pushed her to attend SC ... D.L. says Dre's just being a good parent, and Truly has 70 million reasons to be grateful.

D.L.'s an expert on the topic ... his daughter's also at USC, and he's hustling every day -- he was just getting back from a gig -- to pay her tuition. College ain't cheap, even when ya do it all legal and stuff.

You gotta see his take on Dre's fam as a whole -- D.L.'s got a feeling Truly won't be its last Trojan.

3/26 -- Avenatti tweeted early Tuesday morning thanking his supporters for their kind words. He then claimed that he "never attempted to extort Nike & when the evidence is disclosed, the public will learn the truth about Nike's crime & coverup."

6:13 PM PT -- Avenatti just held a brief press conference, saying, "I have fought against the powerful -- powerful people and powerful corporations -- I will never stop fighting that good fight." He added he's "highly confident" he'll be "fully exonerated."

4:33 PM PT -- Avenatti has just been released on a $300,000 bond. He didn't have to pay that amount, but it had to be co-signed by 2 people who say they're good for it.

While he's out on bond, his travel will be restricted to New York and California ... and all travel plans must be approved by the government. Avenatti is also barred from contacting Mark Geragos.

2:53 PM PT -- Avenatti's indictment will NOT have any major impact on the pending R. Kelly criminal case, in which he reps the family of Azriel Clary ... so says Gerald Griggs, who represents Joycelyn Savage's family. Griggs tells TMZ ...  that while Avenatti's criminal cases present problems for himself personally, Griggs says they'll have "minimal" effect in the R. Kelly matter. He adds, "[T]he ten charges are based on four independent accusers and other information independent of Mr. Avenatti. The Savage family continues to seek reunification with their daughter, and that process of justice continues on course for all the alleged victims of Robert Sylvester Kelly."

1:15 PM PT -- The Nike indictment says Avenatti had an unnamed co-conspirator, and we've confirmed reports it is famed attorney Mark Geragos.

12:08 PM PT -- Nike just broke its silence following the news conferences ... saying it "will not be extorted or hide information that is relevant to a government investigation. Nike has been cooperating with the government's investigation into NCAA basketball for over a year."

The shoe giant goes on to say, "When Nike became aware of this matter, Nike immediately reported it to federal prosecutors. When Mr. Avenatti attempted to extort Nike over this matter, Nike with the assistance of outside counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner, aided the investigation."

"Nike firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports, and will continue to assist the prosecutors."

If you recognize the law firm -- Boies Schiller Flexner -- the "Boies" is David Boies, the famous high-powered lawyer who's represented everyone from Al Gore to Harvey Weinstein.

In fact, Boies was also heavily involved with Theranos -- the blood testing company -- and was featured in the HBO documentary "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley."

11:55 AM PT -- The NY Presser just finished up, and prosecutors there had quite a bit to say about Avenatti's alleged extortion efforts toward Nike.

Prosecutors in NY say the alleged Nike scheme played out over the course of a few days last week. Avenatti repped an AAU coach whose team had just lost a Nike sponsorship worth $72k a year. The coach claimed that Nike made payments to families of some high school basketball players, and Avenatti demanded payment from Nike to keep him quiet.

He was arrested Monday at the location where he was supposed to meet with Nike brass, presumably to strike a deal or keep the convo going.

For the record .. the only thing that was coordinated between NY and California was how the bust would go down. That said ... these are two separate federal cases.

11:33 AM PT -- The L.A. Presser just wrapped, and investigators didn't pull any punches in condemning Avenatti's alleged criminal behavior ... calling him a "corrupt lawyer" who was only out for his own personal gain.

Among the most damning allegations in Avenatti's financial case ... Avenatti allegedly siphoned off a $1.6 million settlement he scored for a client in 2017 and hid it in a personal bank account that he controlled ... but never told his client a thing about it. The U.S. Attorney alleges Avenatti used that money to fund his lavish lifestyle and to help pay for his coffee business in California and Washington State. All the while, the client never received a penny.

What's more ... the U.S. Attorney and the IRS also claim Avenatti defrauded a bank for millions of dollars worth of loans by submitting fake tax returns between 2011 and 2013, in which he claimed to have earned around $4-$5 million a year each year and supposedly paid $2.8 million in taxes. The government says all of that was a lie ... he didn't file taxes those years at all.

Sandra Bullock is looking to unload her oceanfront property in Georgia ... and you can enjoy the island lifestyle, if you've got a boatload of cash!!!

We've learned the Oscar winner is listing her 3-acre estate on Tybee Island for a cool $6.5 million, and it just went on the market. Our sources tell us Sandra is selling her Georgia home because she's raising her family on the West Coast, and she doesn't see herself spending much time back East anymore.

As you can see ... the property is amazing, and it's got tons of privacy. There's a private entrance to the beach, and if you don't feel like getting sandy or salty, you can take a dip in the pool. The baller beach house also comes with a basketball court, and a home gym!

The main house is huge ... we're talking 3,360 square feet of luxury surrounded by screened porches, perfect for enjoying those ocean breezes!

You'll probably have tons of visitors -- who wouldn't want to check out Sandra's old digs -- so the guest house will come in handy ... it's 2,848 square feet of fun, with a game room and a crows nest to take in the breathtaking ocean views!

Lonzo Ball's manager wants everyone to take their $500 Big Baller Brand shoes and THROW THEM IN THE TRASH.

Yeah, seems the Big Baller era is officially over.

The guy dumping his ZO2s is Darren "DMo" Moore -- Lonzo's longtime friend and manager.

Moore posted video of the shoe-trashing on social media -- along with the hashtag, "DumpUrMerch."

So, why is Zo's camp turning on Big Baller Brand?

It's obviously connected to reports that BBB co-founder Alan Foster allegedly stole $1.5 MILLION from Lonzo's personal and business accounts.

Ball has lawyered up and says he plans to go after Foster.

In a statement, Lonzo says he still has love and respect for Foster -- but it seems his manager DMo doesn't feel the same way.

Important to point out that Lonzo isn't calling for people to trash his shoes -- he's still a majority owner in the company -- but it's not a good sign that his manager is calling for a worldwide BBB dump.

There are also reports the Ball family is considering folding the BBB brand altogether.

Ex-NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho says he's got VIDEO of the scumbags who broke into his Texas home and jacked everything from cash to jewelry ... and now he's working with cops to catch 'em.

Cops DID confirm they're investigating the burglary at Acho's Austin home -- but would not confirm the people in his video have been labeled suspects (hence, the blurs on their faces).

But, here's the story ... Acho -- now an analyst for ESPN -- says a crew of thieves "broke into my closet and safe and robbed me of my cash, my Rolexes and other personal memorabilia."

Acho believes the crooks were out-of-towners who were in Austin for the South By Southwest Festival earlier this month. He believes they're from L.A. and Miami.

When contacted by TMZ Sports, cops would not confirm Acho's suspicions -- only telling us they're investigating the matter.

28-year-old Acho was a stud linebacker at the University of Texas back in the day ... earning first-team All-Big 12 honors during his senior season in 2011.

He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round, but his NFL career lasted just 3 seasons.

Lil Wayne's a lyrical genius who freestyles on all of his tracks, but there was a time when he'd put pen to paper for all of his lyrics ... now a notebook filled with them can be yours for a pretty penny.

The notebook -- written in 1999 when Weezy was an up-and-coming 17-year-old rapper -- is on the market for a cool $250k. The folks over at Moments in Time are handling the sale of the rare collection ... featuring lyrics from "We On Fire" and "I Feel" during Wayne's time with the rap group "Hot Boys."

We're told the person who owns the notebook says he found it in a car that once belonged to Cash Money Records. He says when the dealership he works for took ownership of the whip, the guy rummaged through what was left behind and took possession of the notebook.

Check out the pics and notice the notebook has some water damage. That's because, according to the owner, the notebook came close to getting destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit.

He says he stored the notebook in a box in his garage. When Katrina hit, he evacuated and when he returned, his home was all but destroyed ... as were most of the things in his garage, except for a few items, including the notebook.

Suffice it to say ... whoever scores the notebook's getting his hands on rare hip-hop history.

3/24 -- R. Kelly's request to travel to Dubai looks shaky at best now -- 'cause the Dubai government is coming out strong against the singer, saying he has no business coming there ... at least as far as they're concerned. The Dubai Media Office issued a statement Sunday, denying R. Kelly's claims that he might need to fly there for potential gigs ... with the agency saying there were no planned concerts for R. Kelly that the government was aware of.

The DMO also shot down claims by R. Kelly's legal team that he had plans to meet the sheikhdom's ruling Al Maktoum family ... calling BS and saying, "Authorities in Dubai have not received any request for a performance by singer R. Kelly nor are there any venues that have been booked."

8:02 AM -- The hearing has wrapped up. Greenberg formally asked for a copy of the sex tapes but the judge did not rule on whether Kelly's team will get copies just yet. Greenberg added the sex tapes should be protected from public viewing.

Also, Kelly's motion for permission to travel has been continued.

7:20 AM PT -- Kelly has just arrived to court. The hearing is now scheduled to start at 7:45 AM PT.

6:40 AM PT -- We will be live streaming inside R. Kelly's pretrial hearing in Cook County Courthouse. It's scheduled to start around 7 AM PT.

R. Kelly and his legal team are demanding to get their hands and eyes on the alleged sex tapes that prompted the 10 counts of sexual abuse ... and they're hoping to walk out of court Friday with them.

Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ ... prosecutors will begin handing over discovery materials during a court hearing Friday in Chicago. He says there's no guarantee what they'll get right off the bat -- could be police reports, case material from Kelly's 2008 trial but, obviously, the items they're most anxious to see are the 2 tapes Michael Avenatti turned over to Cook County prosecutors.

Greenberg says he hasn't seen the tapes -- which Avenatti claims show Kelly engaged in various sex acts with a 14-year-old girl -- so he can't really begin to mount a defense strategy. Once he does get them, a couple different things could happen.

He'll immediately order a full forensic analysis of the tapes ... if he and Kelly believe the tape does show the singer. If they don't think it's Kelly, Greenberg says he'll speed things up to trial.

For now, it's a waiting game since Kelly's team has no idea what prosecutors will hand over.

Kelly might also ask the judge to let him travel to Dubai for work -- he had to surrender his passport when he got arrested. Sources close to the singer tell us he could potentially get a gig there, but doesn't have anything booked yet.

Greenberg says he's not sure the judge will hear that request Friday, but it's on their "to do" list because -- make no mistake -- Kelly's desperate to make some cash.

3/25 -- For the record, Dre and Iovine donated a whopping $70 MILLION to the University. The department they funded -- The Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation, was established to promote entrepreneurship, computer science and engineering, audio and visual design, and the arts. Dre and Jimmy wanted to inspire innovators.

3/24 -- Dr. Dre has deleted his Instagram post in which he touted his daughter's acceptance to USC with "no jail time." Lots of people pointed out how tone-deaf it came off considering he and Jimmy Iovine made a multi-million dollar donation to USC and literally have a portion of the school named after them.

Dr. Dre's rubbing a little salt in the wounds of Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and all the other parents involved in the college bribery scandal ... while gloating about his USC-bound child.

The music mogul and proud papa just shared a photo with his daughter, Truly Young, holding up her Certificate of Admissions letter from the University of Southern California ... and added a savage jab.

Dre wrote ... "My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!"

As we've reported ... Huffman, Loughlin and her husband are facing criminal charges for allegedly paying to get their kids into the prestigious school by fraudulent means.

Loughlin's daughters have already formally left USC and could be banned from campus forever.

Dr. Dre clearly doesn't think he has any reason to worry about something like that happening or any legal issues with her attending the college.

Some folks might take umbrage with the rapper's claim that his daughter got accepted on her own, though -- he and Jimmy Iovine founded the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy a few years back ... and there's a hall on campus named after them.

That may have had a little something to do with it ... just maybe.

Jordan Belfort could have been linked to Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and the other parents caught up in the college bribery scandal ... but he didn't take the bait.

The real-life "Wolf of Wall Street" was at LAX when we asked him about the admissions scandal involving schools like USC, Harvard, Yale, UCLA and Georgetown, and turns out ... he has a wild personal story about it.

Belfort tells us his son was applying to Georgetown and somehow, a shady character got his number and tried to rope him in ... but he and his son declined. He says the scheme went far beyond the old "wink wink" days of buying your kid's way into college with a donation too.

As for who was behind the recruitment process, Jordan speculates it could have been one of Rick Singer's "finders" ... but he's not certain.

As for Singer -- the ringleader of the scandal -- Belfort has some predictions on the legal ramifications of his crooked scheme ... and it goes beyond jail time.

Mike Tyson says Conor McGregor needs to quit talkin' UFC ownership and focus on what made him a superstar to begin with ... telling TMZ Sports the fighter should do just that -- FIGHT!!!

As we previously reported ... The Notorious demanded a piece of the UFC in a rant at a Chicago bar last week ... following up on what he's been saying for YEARS.

"Give me my rightful shares in the UFC company. That’s all I ask," Conor said at the time.

Tyson says Conor's WRONG ... 'cause ownership is a whole different kinda game ... and Mike seems to think McGregor should get his money the ol' fashioned way -- by kickin' ass.

Rich the Kid still subscribes to the mantra "if ya got it, flaunt it" ... armed robberies be dammed.

The rapper scored this incredible spinning chain after dropping a whopping $425,000!!! Celeb jeweler Eliantte was commissioned to do the one-of-a-kind mastery. The entire piece features 250 carats of all VS diamonds. There's also the glitzy Cuban link chain.

So, why'd RTK drop as much money as your average Joe drops on a modest home? It's to celebrate the release of his new album, "The World is Yours 2," which, BTW, is what's inscribed in the center of the pendant. Rich's sophomore album -- slated to drop at midnight -- features Big Sean, Offset and Lil Pump among others.

Rich's no stranger to showing off his worth. But, as we've also reported ... Rich's also no stranger to getting jacked. This robbery landed him in the hospital and this robbery resulted in a member of his entourage getting pistol whipped.

He's said in the past he doesn't need security ... but Rich might wanna rethink that strategy with this new bling.

Just saying.

Elizabeth Holmes is being outed as a fraud of epic proportions in the business world, but there's nothing deceitful about her curiously low voice ... so says her family.

Elizabeth, the disgraced Silicon Valley hotshot, is the subject of a new HBO documentary chronicling the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of her company, Theranos ... all the result of Elizabeth falsely claiming she discovered a way to revolutionize blood testing.

Elizabeth wowed world titans like Bill Clinton, George Schultz and Henry Kissinger, partly with her intoxicating pipes. But, a Stanford professor featured on the doc and others say even Elizabeth's voice was BS ... they say she faked it. Viewers of the doc made "voice" the buzzword for fraud.

Her family, however, is calling BS on the doubters.

Elizabeth's family members tell us her voice is naturally low. We're told most people in the fam have low voices, including her grandmother, and Elizabeth will occasionally change her pitch to a higher octave -- especially when she gets excited or passionate.

As for Elizabeth's fraudulent business practice ... her family tells us they're standing behind her and remaining supportive.

Her company went from being valued at more than $9 billion to below zero. She's also been indicted for allegedly defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars and deceiving hundreds of patients and doctors with the bogus blood test. She's pled not guilty.

Kwame Brown is callin' BS on the NBA's one-and-done rule ... telling TMZ Sports, "To tell a young man he can go shoot a gun but he can't go earn a living, that, to me, doesn't make any sense."

Of course, the infamous NBA rule is back making headlines this year after Zion Williamson made it emphatically clear in just a few weeks at Duke he was ready for the pros.

But, the league still has its draft rule in place -- saying players need to spend a year in college before they can play for one of its 30 teams -- and thus, Zion remains a Blue Devil.

Enter 37-year-old Brown -- who went straight from high school to being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft when he was selected by the Washington Wizards.

Brown thinks the 1-and-done rule is just ridiculous -- telling us there's simply no place for it in today's society.

"Free enterprise," Kwame says ... "Go and get that money."

As for Brown ... we had to ask if he regrets not going to college straight outta high school given his NBA career didn't flourish the way he expected it to -- and his answer was a big, fat HELL NO!!!

"Factor out the numbers, I know economics," Kwame tells us ... "I own four companies!"

Mark McGrath is ripping Peloton for allegedly stealing music to build its brand ... and he says it's time the company pays songwriters and artists.

We got the Sugar Ray frontman at LAX Wednesday, and our photog asked him about the $150 million lawsuit claiming Peloton is jacking songs for spin classes. Ya gotta see Mark's reaction ... he's spinning mad about the whole thing, and he ain't holding back!!!

Mark slams Peloton for allegedly using music it doesn't have the rights to ... and makes an easy-to-understand analogy for those who don't know how intellectual property works.

Mark, who's written some hugely successful songs, is understandably upset ... but says he's more concerned about other musicians who can't afford to have their work stolen.

We also asked Mark what's the best music to spin to -- so long as the rights are locked up. Hint: This band will help you slay your workout.