Ariana Grande Donates Atlanta Concert Proceeds ... To Planned Parenthood
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EXCLUSIVE
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Ariana Grande has donated proceeds of her June 8, sold-out Atlanta concert performance to Planned Parenthood -- TMZ has learned -- and we're told the org will get $300,000.
It’s a significant move because Georgia is one of the states that passed the “fetal heartbeat” abortion law. The new restrictions have triggered a call for a boycott of the Peach State, and some entertainment companies have already pulled the plug on production.
The heartbeat laws promise to become a lightning rod in the upcoming presidential election. The laws are already being challenged in court and it's a virtual certainty the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on its constitutionality. The new laws are a direct challenge to Roe vs. Wade, which set vastly different standards for the right to an abortion, and with the 2 new SCOTUS Justices, the deck may now be stacked.
As for Ariana ... her decision to donate profits will clearly be on the minds of other performers who take the stage in GA.
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Floyd Mayweather Drops Off Forbes' List ... Messi Takes Top Spot
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Breaking News
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From #1 to not even listed ... Floyd Mayweather is NOT one of Forbes' highest-paid athletes of 2019 ... after taking the top honors one year ago.
The business magazine released its list of the richest ballers of the year ... and surprisingly, the boxing superstar nicknamed "Money" ain't on it.
The top 3 spots belong to footballers Lionel Messi ($127 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($109 million), and Neymar ($105 million) ... and Canelo Alvarez ($94 million) and Roger Federer ($93.4 million) round out the top 5.
Look, this ain't a shot at Floyd -- considering he made more than double what Messi made this year in 2018 (he raked in $285 million thanks to the Conor McGregor fight) ...but it's interesting to see him fall out of the top 100 altogether.
Other notable athletes in the top 10 include Russell Wilson ($89.5 million), Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million) and LeBron James ($89 million).
McGregor made the list at #21 with $47 million earned (last year he was #4 with $99 million).
As for cash made straight off endorsements, King James ain't at the top -- it's Federer, with $86 million made off the tennis court.
The youngest player on the list is 20-year-old French soccer star Kylian Mbappe with $30.6 million ... so he's got a few years to catch up to Messi.
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Woodstock 50 Planned Venue Pulls Out!!! Festival in Jeopardy Again
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EXCLUSIVE
- 583 shares
4:55 PM PT -- A rep for Woodstock tells us, "We are in discussions with another venue to host Woodstock 50 on August 16th - 18th and look forward to sharing the new location when tickets go on sale in the coming weeks.
It's not looking good for Woodstock 50 again -- the music festival doesn't have anywhere to set up shop.
The hammer dropped Monday afternoon when Watkins Glen International -- an upstate NY race track -- terminated Woodstock 50's site license ... leaving the troubled concert without a home. The racetrack cited its contract with Woodstock 50 as its reason for scrapping the permit.
It's terrible news for fans who were still holding out hope the festival would actually get off the ground on the heels of major money issues nearly shutting it down.
As we've reported ... Woodstock 50's previous financial backer, Dentsu, tried canceling the event altogether. Woodstock 50 recently found a new partner to bankroll the project, and organizer Michael Lang has vowed the show will go on, but Monday's news appears to be the knockout punch.
The clock is ticking, and right now you'd have to say ... it's gonna be difficult to host a music and arts fest in August without a venue.
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Kevin Hart Sued Your Security Broke My Face!!!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Kevin Hart's bodyguards violently bowled over an innocent bystander on the street as they were escorting Kevin out of an event, leaving the woman with a broken face ... this according to a new lawsuit.
According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Carmen Marrero claims she was minding her own business this January on a New York City sidewalk when Kevin and his security team came barreling out of a building, knocking her to the ground in the ensuing scrum.
Kevin was inside the building for a screening of his movie, "The Upside" ... and Marrero's attorney, Richard Russo, tells us she was crossing the street and walking past a small crowd gathered outside the screening when one of Kevin's bodyguards started shoving people, throwing her to the ground, which caused her to fracture her face.
Marrero is suing Kevin, his production company and SAG-AFTRA for assault and battery ... and she's going after them for money.
We reached out to Kevin ... so far, radio silence.
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Marilyn Monroe Pregnant Pics From Secret Affair??? Seller Says Rumors Are True
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EXCLUSIVE
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Marilyn Monroe is clearly pregnant in a collection of extremely rare photographs -- at least that's what the person trying to sell them is saying, but they're not alone.
The pics, purporting to show a pregnant Marilyn in 1960, are going up for sale through the memorabilia company, Moments in Time -- where they're hawking the shots for a cool $95,000 ... and pushing the pregnancy angle.
The stunning pics were shot by Marilyn's confidant, Frieda Hull, who long ago claimed Monroe told her she was pregnant with actor Yves Montand's child when they snapped the pics in New York.
The alleged pregnancy is a big deal because Marilyn was married to Arthur Miller at that time, and she had just worked with Montand on the movie, "Let's Make Love." How's that for timing?
Hull dubbed the shots, "The Pregnant Slides," but there's never been any solid proof Marilyn was actually preggo at that time.
The photos were sold as part of Marilyn's estate after she died, and they were purchased by her neighbor, Tony Michaels, for $2,240. Marilyn never gave birth before her death in 1962, and Frieda told Michaels the actress lost the baby -- but it's unclear if that was by miscarriage or abortion.
Fans have been trying to debunk the pregnant rumor for years. Frieda died in 2014, so she can't help prove or disprove it.
Either way, no one's debating one fact -- Marilyn looked as BOMBshell as ever in the photos.
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Dana White Lorenzo Fertitta WILL Own NFL Team ... I Wanna Be His Partner!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Dana White is GUARANTEEING Lorenzo Fertitta will eventually own an NFL team ... and he's telling TMZ Sports he wants to be a partner with the guy when he makes that purchase!!!
"I'm very interested," White says.
Of course, Fertitta -- the ex-UFC boss who sold his shares in the fight company back in 2016 -- just confirmed to us a few days ago he's desperately trying to buy an NFL squad.
Even though no team is available at the moment -- and no current owners look to be in any hurry to put up a for sale sign -- Dana is promising Fertitta will own a team someday.
"He is absolutely, positively going to be an NFL owner," White says.
As for how Fertitta will do when that happens ... White -- who's still very tight with Lorenzo -- says his ex-business partner will be a PERFECT fit.
"He will be an incredible owner. You know, they owned casinos, they're incredible owners. They owned the UFC, they were incredible owners. They’ll be amazing NFL owners."
Ya listening, Roger???
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Lorenzo Fertitta Ex-UFC Owner Gunning To Buy NFL Team
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EXCLUSIVE
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Ex-UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta is ready to be the boss man once again ... telling TMZ Sports he's officially gunning to buy an NFL team!
"Always wanted to do that," Fertitta says.
Lorenzo and his brother Frank sold their shares of the UFC back in 2016 as part of that $4 BILLION deal with WME-IMG ... and he tells us he's now trying to invest some of those profits into a pro football team in the very near future.
The problem for Lorenzo ... he says he just can't find somebody willing to sell their squad!!!
"Right now, there's no opportunities."
As for which team Lorenzo ultimately wants to buy -- he says he's not picky ... telling us, "I love football so much it doesn’t matter. I'd do anywhere.”
There's more ... Fertitta also spoke with us about Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov -- and even told us why he still misses owning the UFC a little bit!!!
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Antonio Tarver Arrest Video Released ... After He Cuts Deal In Battery Case
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EXCLUSIVE
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Ex-boxing superstar Antonio Tarver was pretty pissed to be arrested in front of his neighbors after he allegedly socked his stepson in the mouth ... telling cops, "that's ridiculous, man."
It's all in police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows Tarver getting put in the back of a cop car after he and his 18-year-old stepson, Aziya Taylor, got into an altercation at Tarver's Florida home last August.
As we previously reported, Taylor told cops a dispute at a Waffle House earlier in the day led to Tarver attacking him, socking him and throwing him in the garage.
In 911 calls previously obtained by TMZ Sports ... you can hear the alleged scuffle break out -- followed by a neighbor telling dispatch that Aziya was a bloody mess from the incident.
50-year-old Tarver was ultimately arrested for domestic battery -- and as you can see in the video, dude was NOT happy to be put in cuffs in his own neighborhood, saying, "I don't know why ya'll gotta handcuff me."
"All my neighbors out here, man. That's ridiculous, man."
But, Antonio -- who was facing up to 1 year in jail for the altercation -- just cut a deal with prosecutors last week ... and in exchange for a no contest plea -- he had his battery charge reduced to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Tarver's punishment? Around $350 in court fees and fines.
Tarver -- now listed at 6'2", 225 pounds -- was a stud boxer back in the day ... winning multiple belts and scoring impressive wins over stars like Roy Jones Jr.
Antonio also starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon in the 2006 "Rocky Balboa" movie.
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Apollo 11 We Landed on the Moon!!! Photographic Evidence Up for Grabs
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EXCLUSIVE
- 136 shares
Attention all moon landing fans ... or even deniers -- this is your chance to own a piece of American space exploration history, via legends Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
An extremely rare 70 mm positive film roll from the camera of Apollo 11 -- the first spaceflight that put Neil and Buzz on the lunar surface -- will be up for grabs starting June 13.
The Hasselblad cam film roll contains 126 iconic photos from the moonshot mission taken personally by Armstrong and Aldrin during their exploration.
The color images include moments from inside the Lunar Module Eagle right before Armstrong stepped off the spacecraft, his first photo after taking his famous first steps, Aldrin standing next to the American Flag ... and his legendary "Moon Man" image with his mask showing a reflection of Armstrong.
According to the auction house, RR Auction, the film roll was acquired from Terry Slezak, a member of the Manned Spacecraft Center's lunar receiving lab. He was in charge of processing the film brought back from the Apollo moon landings ... and here he is with moon dust on his hands from one of 11's film canisters.
The roll goes up for auction June 13 and ends on June 20 ... and it's estimated to haul in around $8,000.
That's one not-so-small bid for man ...
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Zion Williamson Investment Advice From 'Shark Tank' Star
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EXCLUSIVE
- 212 shares
Zion Williamson is about to be an instant millionaire ... and who better than "Shark Tank" star and wealthy businessman Kevin O'Leary to give the future NBA superstar some investment advice!!!
So grab a pen and paper, Zion ... 'cause Mr. Wonderful is about to give you a crash course in being rich AF.
-- Hire an advisor to handle all the boring stuff ... "over time, build a real estate portfolio, some really boring bonds and some large cap to the pink stocks." ... whatever that means.
-- NO ENTOURAGE ... sorry, Drama and Turtle -- O'Leary says it's better to keep your circles small ..."Walk around with 2 people, not 20. Most of the money goes to people you forget after a while ... support your mother, not your friends!!"
-- Look rich ... "You want a sharp suit," O'Leary says. "Get a great watch ... If you wear an Apple Watch, you're 20-percent off retail when you start, before you've said anything. You wanna show them the designed flair and that gives you market value that people will want to advertise with you."
There you have it, Zion. All the keys to success from a very, very, very rich man.
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LL Cool J Hell Yes, Ruiz Jr. Deserves $50 Mil ... That's the Price for the Belts!!!
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EXCLUSIVE
- 4K shares
Don't call it a comeback, call it a payout -- LL Cool J's coming out swinging for Andy Ruiz Jr., saying if Anthony Joshua wants back the belts, he's gotta pay the guy who took 'em.
We got LL at LAX Friday, and the famous fight fan wasn't just riding the "Pay Ruiz" train ... he was the freakin' conductor!!! We asked him about the new WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight champ demanding $50 MILLION, if the Joshua rematch is held on AJ's turf in the UK.
LL didn't hesitate, telling us ... "He should get more than that. Gotta get every dime you can get, baby!"
Cool J says people gotta stop looking at Ruiz as the relatively unknown guy he was before he shocked the world by upsetting Joshua last weekend in Madison Square Garden.
As LL put it, "He got the belts now and this is the price."
He added you also have to take into account the kinda beating boxers take every time they step in the ring. He gave a shout out to Canadian boxer Adonis Stevenson, who was left in critical condition with a brain injury last year.
That's why LL says, Ruiz is "supposed to charge. They work hard, they risk their lives."
As for who would win the rematch -- LL isn't willing to lay a bet just yet -- but when it comes to a possible Ruiz-Deontay Wilder bout? He's 100% on that one.
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Tyler Perry That Billboard Worked After All!!! Actress Says She Scored Audition
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EXCLUSIVE
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The actress who put up a billboard desperately trying to get Tyler Perry's attention for a job says the stunt worked ... 'cause she landed an audition.
Racquel Bailey joined "TMZ Live" Friday and revealed that -- even after the famed director kinda scolded her for the stunt -- she got a shot to audition for him. Check out the clip ... Racquel says Tyler's team reached out to her and asked her to submit a tape. Obvi, she did.
You'll recall Tyler took to Instagram Thursday to call out Racquel ... saying the stunt was the third time someone had forked out good money for a billboard to catch his eye.
Tyler essentially gave her the compliment sandwich: He appreciated the passion, said the stunt's not a good look and closed out saying he has no doubt she'll make it one day.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
BTW ... Tyler also said he's seen her work -- she appeared in 2 episodes of HBO's "The Night Of" -- and liked her. So, maybe it wasn't the billboard that put her over.
For her part, Racquel says Tyler's lecture didn't faze her ... not the least bit. In fact, she says Tyler's post lit a fire under her ass.
It also didn't stop her from showering Tyler with tons of praise. Smart.
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Mickey Mantle 1957 Yankees Contract Hits Auction Block ... He Only Made $60K!!!
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Breaking News
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The New York Yankees contract that paid Mickey Mantle a shockingly low amount of money back in 1957 can be all yours ... if you've got a big pile of cash to buy it!!!
TMZ Sports has learned the deal that Mantle himself signed back in '57 is hitting the SCP Auctions block -- and is expected to fetch over $40,000.
It's interesting ... because Mantle -- who had just hit for the Triple Crown in 1956 with 52 home runs, 130 RBI and a .353 batting average (it was one of the greatest offensive seasons ever) -- was only scheduled to make $60k.
If that seems staggeringly low ... it's 'cause it is -- for a similar season in 2014, Giancarlo Stanton inked a 13-year, $325 MILLION deal ($25 mil a year)!!!
Of course, the Yanks got much more than they bargained for after Mantle signed on the dotted line ... he went on to win the MVP for a second consecutive season in 1957.
As for the contract itself, it's an awesome piece of history ... it's got The Mick's signature AND Hall of Famer Lee MacPhail's on it as well.
Bidding closes in two weeks ... good luck!!!
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Rihanna Boatload O' Dough ... as the Rich Get Richer!!!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Rihanna's latest crowning achievement calls for a yacht of fun ... off southern Italy's Amalfi Coast with her super-rich BF and a bunch of friends in tow.
RiRi, billionaire BF Hassan Jameel and several others hit up Positano, Italy and needed to cram into a small boat before pouring into a yacht for a little relaxation afloat the crystal blue waters.
The vacay comes on the heels of Forbes earlier this week naming Rihanna the wealthiest female musician in the world ... with an estimated fortune of about 600 MILLION BUCKS. Madonna was a close second at $570 mil and Celine Dion ($450M) and Beyonce ($400M) trailed behind.
Nevertheless ... pretty sure Rihanna's smile was all Hassan's doing. They've been going strong since 2017. His family, btw, is worth an estimated $2.2 billion as of 2017.
But, make no mistake ... Rihanna's the reason we can call them a true power couple.
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MMA's Rener Gracie 'Shark Tank' Blew Up My Clothing Brand!
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EXCLUSIVE
- 47 shares
Rener Gracie is MMA royalty -- a member of the legendary Gracie family which created Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
But, he's also a fashion designer -- and he tells TMZ Sports his business went CRAZY a few weeks ago when he made a deal on "Shark Tank."
Rener is the creator of Quikflip -- which started as a hoodie that transforms into a wearable backpack.
The 35-year-old martial artist was a hit on "Shark Tank" -- and ended up making a $500,000 deal with Lori Grenier.
Will the Sharks flip over this business? Find out SUNDAY during our season finale! #SharkTank pic.twitter.com/2zVenwOkUx
@ABCSharkTank
Now, Rener says the exposure from the show has resulted in a MASSIVE sales increase -- and coupled with his new famous and powerful business partner, he's ready to take over.
Check out the clip ... Rener says he's stoked to have found success outside the world of jiu-jitsu ... but don't worry, he ain't slowing down in the fight world any time soon either.
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R. Kelly Ex Wants Deadline For Child $upport ... Or Else He'll Never Pay!!!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Although R. Kelly's camp has been referring to the unpaid $32k as "interest" ... our sources connected to the case say that's not entirely true.
We're told only $11,500 of that amount is interest, and the rest -- about $20,800 -- is for unpaid child support and educational and healtcare expenses for the children.
Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg acknowledges, "Yes, he owes for some some educational and healthcare expenses that aren't documented -- and, I question if they're even true -- and some interest.
He also says Kelly intends to "pay the money whether he agrees with it or not at this point."
R. Kelly is on the hook for another significant child support payment ... and his ex-wife wants to set a firm deadline to get the dough, because she's convinced he'll never pony up otherwise.
According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the disgraced singer's ex-wife, Drea Kelly, is asking the court for a hard and fast deadline for Kelly to pay her the $32k he owes in interest on back child support.
In the docs, Drea claims Kelly is dragging his feet on the payment because the court never imposed a set date for him to cough it up ... and she wants a deadline to be enforced, or else she thinks she'll never see the money.
Remember, Kelly's been required to pay $20,833 per month in child support since January 2009. He fell behind on his payments, to the tune of $161,633, and was arrested and sat in jail until he paid his tab.
But, Drea's still fighting for the interest on that money ... and she wants the court to get involved to force Kelly's hand. Kelly's crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, says they are aware of the pleading and will respond accordingly.
6/6/19
Of course, child support's only one of Kelly's worries nowadays ... he was in a Chicago courthouse Thursday morning, where he pled not guilty on the new round of sexual assault and abuse charges he's facing.