Shaquille O'Neal made a bigger than life gesture for a Louisiana family that tragically lost a child in a car accident -- covering the balance of his burial service.
Phil Conrad -- a retired chief deputy officer from the Lafayette City Marshal's Office -- tells TMZ Sports ... the ex-NBA big man recently shelled out a few thousand bucks to help pay for the remaining cost of a child's funeral, this after his family came up just a little short.
Here's what happened ... a car with an adult driver and four minors ran a stop sign, then crashed into a ditch and ultimately into a tree a couple weeks ago out in nearby Breaux Bridge, LA. The crash claimed the lives of two of the kids in the back seat, 12-year-old Trayvon Alexander and 11-year-old Keshon Batiste. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Conrad tells us Trayvon's family had insurance covering his burial in full, but young Keshon did not ... leaving his loved ones to start a GoFundMe. They still need around $4,000 to reach their goal. We're told Shaq -- who went to college in Louisiana -- caught wind of the story and hit up Phil to get downloaded on the situation.
Once Shaq heard what was needed to help Keshon's relatives, Conrad says he instantly acted ... wiring him the leftover balance immediately, and Conrad then delivered the cash to the Kinchen Funeral Home. We're told the two boys were laid to rest Saturday.
There's more ... we're told Shaq has done stuff exactly like this several times in the past, but he's kept it low key. Stand up guy.
Ron White is an incredibly successful comedian, and even he is feeling the disastrous fallout from the coronavirus pandemic ... so much so, he's telling a judge he can't afford to pay his ex-wife spousal support.
Ron filed legal docs asking the family law judge to terminate his $25,000 payments he's been ordered to plunk down every month.
White was married to Margo Rey from 2013 to 2017.
Ron, who's been paying Margo $25k a month since last November, says enough is enough, writing, "... she continued her decades-long pursuit of being a professional singer at which she is not self-supporting. I have spent 200+ days per year traveling the country every year to do stand-up shows, and I made more than $200,000 per month doing it."
Ron goes on ... "Now I cannot work. I have a tenth-grade education. I am 63. Margo still insists I pay her $25,000 per month. I have employees depending on me for wages and benefits. I do not even have $25,000 per month of income."
Ron then goes on to ask the judge to terminate his spousal support obligations.
Ron submitted a breakdown of his income and expenses, and the virus has created a bleak situation for him. His total expenses are more than $433,000, and his net operating income is just over $300,000. But he says since the virus, his income is zero.
Ron and Margo had a bitter divorce. She claimed he left her high and dry, canceling her credit cards and cutting her off financially.
Awesome gesture by Eagles stud Malik Jackson ... he donated $100k to help families in Philadelphia -- this after he says he was inspired to give back during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I woke up one morning and realized, I said I wasn’t doing enough," Jackson tells TMZ Sports. "I actually watched a '60 Minutes' special and realized I wasn’t doing enough."
Jackson says he got with his camp earlier this month and quickly found an organization in Philly he wanted to give back to ... Fred's Footsteps.
The org assists families in the region with sick, disabled or injured children ... and Jackson tells us he's proud his money will help that cause during coronavirus times.
"With Fred’s Footsteps, they’ll get help," Jackson says. "I think we’ve really just tried to be a blessing. Because it’s a blessing to be a blessing."
Jackson, though, didn't stop the charity efforts there ... he also helped feed medical personnel at L.A. County USC Hospital with a donation last week as well.
As for football, the 30-year-old (who signed a 3-year, $30 MIL contract last season with the Eagles) says his injured foot is progressing well ... and he's hoping to be a dominant force in the NFL again this year.
Real estate agents in Los Angeles have been forced to get creative when it comes to showing some of the city's most spectacular cribs ... turning to technology to give multi-home tours in less than an hour.
Four agents from The Agency Beverly Hills fired up the Bond Street Partners Instagram Live Friday to tour 4 properties around the city. Each agent was armed with a mask, gloves and even shoe protection while they took viewers through each pad with a mobile tour before passing it on to the next.
David Parnes, James Harris, Alana Mesica and Fred Dapp took viewers through a myriad of options ... from a $48,000,000 home located on the Bird Streets, to a $100,000 per month rental with over 7,000 square feet of living space. In all, those watching saw about $75,000,000 of real estate in an hour.
Dapp tells us the team really had to think outside the box in the last few weeks in order to move properties. He says the digital showings have been a big help.
As for whether or not the pricey pads are actually selling during COVID-19 ... we're told the group has closed on 5 sales at $22.6M with 4 new escrows at $33.8M.
2:40 PM PT -- That didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after 2 Chainz's business partner and co-owner Snoop Dillard told us they were going to reopen their ATL joints, they're now saying it's a no-go. Dillard tells TMZ, "After careful consideration, we are not going to open our restaurants on Monday. It has not officially been decided when we will start having dine-in service."
UPDATE
Smart move.
Escobar season has returned for 2 Chainz... the rapper is reopening his Atlanta restaurants for sit-down service, and he says he has a plan for keeping folks safe from COVID-19.
Both of 2 Chainz's joints, Escobar Restaurant and Tapas, are serving dine-in meals starting Monday -- his business partner and co-owner, Snoop Dillard, tells TMZ -- and they're making public safety a top priority.
Escobar restaurants were strictly doing take-out orders due to coronavirus restrictions, but with Georgia's Governor paving the way for businesses to reopen -- in many cases recklessly -- 2 Chainz is getting people back to work.
We're told sales at both locations have been down 95% during the shutdown, and the restaurants were forced to furlough around 80% of its staff.
With dine-in service coming back, Snoop says they're planning to bring back 65% of restaurant staff -- 80 people -- and the hope is to have everyone back at work eventually.
As you know ... a debate is raging over Georgia's plan to reopen its economy. Governor Brian Kemp is giving the green light, but Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is urging people to be responsible and cautious and stay home.
2 Chainz's restaurants are trying to have the best of both worlds, and they think they will be able to host sit-down service safely.
We're told safety precautions at the restaurants include staff having their temperatures checked when they clock in, mandatory gloves for all employees, masks for the cooks and single-use paper menus.
Any staff member showing coronavirus symptoms will be asked to go home and quarantine for 14 days.
We're also told the restaurants are bringing back hookahs, which will be cleaned and sanitized frequently. Most folks bring their own hoses anyways.
And, on the weekends, we're told live DJs will return to both locations ... 2 Chainz and Snoop say the DJs need to make a living as well, but things aren't going into full party mode yet. They even paid a few DJs to come in and spin when it was take-out only -- just to brighten people's days.
2 Chainz and Snoop donated hundreds of meals to medical workers on the frontlines ... and we're told they're planning to give more free meals to workers at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.
Don't mess with Pablo Escobar ... or the late drug lord's family, which is accusing a former exec of hijacking the Escobar YouTube channel, and trying to extort them.
Escobar Inc. is suing Daniel Reitberg, a former chief operating officer of the company, claiming the guy siphoned money out of the Escobars and is now holding their YouTube channel hostage.
In docs, obtained by TMZ, the company claims Reitberg quit last month, but not before raiding the corporate accounts and changing the password to the company's YouTube channel ... cutting off their access.
The company -- which once wanted to partner up with a famous L.A. "gringo" -- claims Reitberg set up corporate bank accounts for the purpose of collecting payments for Escobar merch sold on the YouTube channel ... which it says has generated more than $1 million in sales.
Escobar Inc. also claims Reitberg has made off with thousands of dollars and refuses to surrender the channel. They claim he's holding it ransom ... as a means to extort significant sums of money from the company. The company claims it has tried but failed to reason with him.
Courtrooms weren't really how Pablo handled disputes -- but his family company is now suing to get Reitberg to fork over the password, and for other damages.
The pop star and trio of superstar athletes all got onboard in the last 24 hours with the fundraiser started by Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin. Ariana announced her fan experience Thursday ... offering dinner with her in L.A. and a hang out with her in the studio. David is hosting a 5 on 5 soccer game with VIP treatment at the new stadium where his Miami CF team will play.
Aaron is auctioning off a tour of historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay ... plus tickets to watch him in a Packers game. Bidding starts at $10k.
Kevin is offering up courtside seats to watch his Brooklyn Nets play, plus a sitdown dinner and a chance to take home his NCAA Player Of The Year Trophy.
The big-name additions are already making a huge difference ... fundraiser organizers tell us they've already raised more than $500,000 just today.
As we've reported ... tons of famous athletes and celebs -- including Drake, Kevin Hart, Justin Bieber, Meek Mill, Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest, Magic Johnson and Tom Brady are either raffling or auctioning off amazing packages ... and all the money is going to feed folks in need during the pandemic.
Columbia University's not hurting for money with BILLIONS at its disposal, but it's refusing to refund tuition while the pandemic's shut down campus ... so claims one pissed off student.
The student filed a class-action lawsuit against the Ivy League school saying even though Columbia did the right thing by closing its campus and moving classes online, the school refuses to give back tuition and fees already paid by students.
In docs, obtained by TMZ, the student says they're entitled to get their money back because their online classes do NOT provide benefits they've already paid for upfront ... like in-person instruction, access to campus facilities, student activities and other benefits.
And, the real gut punch, allegedly ... the student claims Columbia's refusal to refund is especially galling because it's sitting on a $10.9 BILLION endowment. The student, who filed anonymously for fear of reprisals, says they've already paid a substantial amount of dough in tuition and fees.
And, if they're taking classes online, the student notes the cost of getting an online-only degree from Columbia is about 17% cheaper than a traditional degree.
Pace University -- another private institution based in NYC with campuses across Westchester County -- is also being sued by a different student making similar accusations. He claims Pace has an endowment of approximately $182 million but has refused to issue refunds.
Students at Michigan State, Purdue, Drexel and Liberty universities have also been suing for similar reasons.
We've reached out to Columbia and Pace, so far no word back.
Joe Biden does not want the support of Louis C.K. -- at least not financially ... his campaign has returned the disgraced comedian's donation.
A Biden presidential campaign spokesperson says C.K.'s donation of $2,800 has been refunded. According to Federal Election Commission records ... the donation was made on March 4, the day after Biden racked up some big wins on Super Tuesday and became the favorite to take on President Trump in November.
Though no formal reason's been giving for the donation return -- neither Biden's camp or Louis C.K. have commented on it -- it's likely linked to the comedian being accused of sexual misconduct by 5 women.
As you'll recall ... the 2017 allegations quickly derailed C.K.'s career after he admitted to them and said he was taking some time off.
However, he's made a comeback of sorts over the past year and received a standing ovation at one of his shows last summer ... even after another major controversy over jokes he made about Parkland school shooting victims.
As for Biden -- it's not uncommon for campaigns to return money to problematic donors, but this move seems like it could create a slippery slope.
The former VP has been the target of a recent sexual assault allegation himself ... though it pales in comparison to the 25+ women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
Jermaine Dupri fears Atlanta's black community will see a spike in COVID-19 deaths IF the city reopens for biz Friday, so he's begging ATL ... "Don't fall for the okie doke."
The "okie doke" is a clear reference to GA's Gov., Brian Kemp, giving the state the green light to open barbershops, hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys and several other businesses. But, Jermaine -- an ATL and hip-hop icon -- says it's too early, and it's the wrong image for his city's black community.
JD came armed with stats for his nearly 10-minute plea to Atlanta -- pointing out COVID-19 is killing African-Americans at a disproportionately high rate, and that Georgia ranks last in virus testing.
He did acknowledge the challenges of quarantine, and said he does understand why people want to get out, but added the stakes are just too high to give in now. As he put it, "Don't die 'cause you bored!"
The NAACP is going even further than Jermaine, directly calling Gov. Kemp's decision "reckless and unilateral." The org. says Kemp is placing "at risk communities in direct danger" of contracting COVID-19, and it's calling on citizens to push back ... and stay home.
Jermaine is also calling on Atlanta's black community to use the power of the "black dollar" by NOT spending at reopened businesses. His bottom line -- "What I want you to understand is they expecting us to die. We don't have to go that way."
9:55 AM PT -- The smaller dog's owner tells us Henry and his team only offered to pay her vet bills after she posted about the incident on Instagram ... she says her emails to him were initially ignored for several days.
Henry Golding's fostered pit bull mauled another pooch in a park -- causing a trip to the vet and staples -- but the actor is now stepping up to cover the injured pooch's bills.
Here's the deal ... the "Crazy Rich Asians" star is fostering a pit bull named Stella during the coronavirus pandemic, and last week Henry brought her to Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles, where all hell broke loose.
We're told Stella attacked a smaller pup while the dogs were running around, picking the pooch up by the neck and causing a large gash that required several hours at an animal hospital. The hurt pup needed 6 staples, but will survive.
The owner of the smaller dog tells us she spoke to a police officer who was at the park, but the cops couldn't do anything and told her the incident needed to be resolved between the 2 parties. We're also told Henry's dog was on a leash, and the smaller pooch was not.
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We're told Henry gave the other dog's owner an email, and both parties have been in communication. A Source close to Henry tells us he's offered to pay the medical bills.
Trick Daddy had a white powdery substance tucked away in a dollar bill when cops pulled him over in Miami ... and then he bombed his field sobriety test.
TMZ's obtained bodycam footage of the rapper's arrest for cocaine possession and driving under the influence ... and you can clearly see the moment police discover what they say is cocaine residue on the inside of a dollar bill.
As you can see in the video ... cops are counting Trick Daddy's money on the trunk of his rental car when a white powdery substance starts falling like snow out of a crumpled dollar bill.
As we reported ... Trick Daddy was busted back in January and was booked for DUI and cocaine possession.
In the bodycam footage, Trick Daddy appears to have bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Cops ask him if he had anything to drink, and after saying he'd had a few drinks a couple hours ago, TD bombs a field sobriety test in a parking lot.
Trick Daddy also tried to pull the ol' "don't-you-know-who-I-am" card in the arrest video ... but it backfires.
3:06 PM PT -- 4/22 -- The contracts have been finalized and the Tiger-Phil-Brady-Manning charity golf match is officially ON!!!
UPDATE
The G.O.A.T. foursome will play at some point next month and all swings will air live on TNT -- this according to Bleacher Report.
UPDATE
The venue, format, date and time are still to be determined ... but what is known is ALL of the proceeds generated by the outing will go to coronavirus relief efforts.
The quartet of sports legends are reportedly set to hit a course next month in what would be America's first major sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic.
Details surrounding the matchup are a little bit murky at this point -- CNBC reports contracts are still being finalized -- but what is known is the event would benefit COVID-19 relief efforts.
The showdown is tentatively set for May ... and it's believed that the foursome will play with a small film production crew on a fanless course and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
CNBC reports the matchup could go down on TNT ... and feature some of its biggest star analysts -- like Charles Barkley -- providing off-site commentary during play.
Of course, Phil and Tiger famously battled each other in a 1-on-1 matchup back in November 2018 ... with Mickelson beating Tiger on the 22nd hole to take home a $9 MILLION prize.
Could Manning and Brady alter that fate next month?? Well, Peyton is reportedly an 8-handicap, while Tom is reportedly a 9.
Rep. Ilhan Omar says the Trump Organization has a lot of nerve asking the federal government for rent relief ... when regular Americans can't get it themselves yet.
We spoke to the Minnesota congresswoman Wednesday about the Trump International Hotel in D.C. making a formal request to its owner's administration to be able to delay its monthly rent payments of $268k. It certainly seems to scream ... conflict of interest.
Eric Trump -- who's in charge of Trump's business affairs while he serves as president -- told the NYT he just wanted to be treated like everyone else ... seeing as how their revenue has taken a nose-dive during the coronavirus pandemic, similar to other hotels in the country.
That's definitely not cool, though, according to Rep. Omar -- who tells us President Trump and his cabinet should NOT be prioritizing hotels over everyday Americans when it comes to rent relief ... as there's a lot more of the latter than the former.
She says no one bats an eye when corporations and businesses ask for help, but when the people need assistance -- more than the federal stimulus checks -- everyone makes a fuss. It sounds like the congresswoman is teasing a potential new bill that would help out with this issue specifically -- namely, rent deferments.
Rep. Omar says there's another reason for the feds to step in quickly ... and it has to do with getting ahead of the curve. Not for the virus, but for a potential housing crisis.
Post Malone is paying tribute to Kurt Cobain's iconic band with a special concert from home, featuring Nirvana songs ... and it's all for coronavirus relief charities.
The singer put up a somewhat cryptic video Wednesday, showing himself sitting on a stool onstage, with an acoustic guitar in hand ... while an unseen crowd cheers in the background. It's very reminiscent of Kurt's famous ''MTV: Unplugged'' show from back in the '90s.
After the footage plays, a title card reading "Post Malone Nirvana Tribute Livestream" flashes on the screen teasing a Friday YouTube special.
Our sources say Post wanted to honor the Nirvana frontman this month, which marks the 26th anniversary of his death. In the same breath, he also wants to help out in the COVID-19 fight.
Post will have a donate button on his YouTube page on the day of the at-home special -- which we're told will be shot at his living room bar -- and the cash will go toward the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization -- a newly-created org that uses funds to help train and equip communities to detect and fend off the virus on the ground. YouTube's matching all of PM's donations.
It sounds like the music will be strictly Nirvana, although it's possible he might sprinkle a few other songs in there too.
FYI ... he's got a tattoo on his face that reads "Stay Away," after the Nirvana song of the same name. So yeah, better than average chance you'll hear that one come Friday.
The federal government admits it's sent stimulus payments to more than 80 million people so far, but some of 'em will never get the dough ... 'cause they're dead.
As the IRS rushes to distribute cash to roughly 150 million Americans, the first wave of deposits went directly into bank accounts of folks who filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019 and got a refund.
Pretty streamlined process, in theory, but the problem is ... some of those people have died since then -- and the government didn't know -- so they still got the money.
Reports of the dead getting paid started coming out last weekend, mostly from surviving spouses or those with bank accounts still open to settle the estates of family members who have passed.
Though these people may have reported the deaths, and the IRS is supposed to check death records before approving payments ... there are apparently gaps in the process and delays in reporting to the Treasury Dept.
As for whether these dead folks can keep the money -- there's some mixed messaging. President Trump said Friday, "Sometimes you send a check to somebody wrong ... We’ll get that back."
Some legal experts think otherwise, though, and an IRS spokesperson added ... "We are aware of all the various issues involving surviving spouses and other heirs and are still working on them."
Meanwhile ... thousands, if not millions, of people who truly need the money -- from disabled veterans to Social Security retirees to families living below the poverty line -- are still waiting to be paid.
The Treasury is reportedly working with other agencies to dish out more automatic payments and get checks in the mail, but obviously ... it ain't easy.