Money

Abigail Breslin blindsided her assistant by canning him out of nowhere and stiffing him on his final paycheck ... according to a new suit.

Michael Helms claims he worked as an assistant for the "Scream Queens" actress until she fired him on August 4. Problem is -- he'd already invoiced her for July, but was told he wasn't going to get paid for that month ... according to the docs.

Sources connected to Michael tell us Abigail spoke with him shortly after firing him to find some sort of compromise. We're told her legal team promised they'd be in touch with an offer, but just blew him off ... so Helms filed suit.

He's asking for $3,500 ... which he claims was a month's salary.

Sean Kingston's begging for mercy -- asking a judge to drop a warrant for his arrest and let him try again in a jewelry case ... instead of sending him to jail.

Here's the story -- Sean was ordered to pay a Florida jeweler $44,000 in December but hasn't yet, so he's become a wanted man. According to new legal docs filed by Kingston ... he didn't know about the order, because he thought the papers he got were for another case, and he ignored them.

Sean says he's regretful and ready to take responsibility ... but wants a new trial so he can tell his side of events. He's also asking the judge to throw him a bone because he's repping himself "due to financial efficiency" and has had health issues after allegedly being assaulted and robbed recently.

The singer claims he's returned some of the merch in question to Haimov Jewelers and tried to set up a payment plan, but they wouldn't accept it.

We reached out to Haimov ... they say Sean hasn't returned anything or even reached out to them.

Tupac Shakur's final ride -- a 1996 Hummer he bought a month before he was killed -- has found a new owner once again ... and the buyer scored a pretty heavy discount.

We broke the story ... the rapper's vehicle sold for a whopping $337,000 in May 2016 to an Ohio bidder, but got sent back to the auction block when the guy flaked.

RR Auction relisted the Hummer and it sold Friday for $206,531 ... $130k less than last time.

Now it's just a matter of waiting and seeing if the anonymous winning bidder pays up.

Jay-Z says he is 100 percent behind LaVar Ball ... so much so that he bought 3 pairs of ZO2 shoes, and says that all of black America should support Ball too, because BBB is an African-American company.

Hov sat down with Elliot Wilson & B.Dot on the Rap Radar Podcast on Tidal, and made it clear he thinks what Ball is doing is revolutionary, and necessary for black empowerment.

"Why wouldn't I support him? He feels like he could move culture and his son has a big enough name and a big enough brand that they can do it. Nike had to start somewhere. Why do we get so upset when we, us as a culture, want to start our own sh*t? That sh*t is puzzling to me."

This is a huge moment for BBB ... Jay-Z is arguably the most influential figure in hip hop, and a co-sign this strong is surely to reshape some opinions people might have on LaVar, a dude who's made some negative press lately.

BALLLLLLLLLLLIN'!!!!!

Magic Johnson has upgraded in a big way ... going from a $500k-per-week yacht to a $700k-per-week yacht -- and he's about to complete his 3RD WEEK on the floating mansion.

The NBA legend is currently floating around the Amalfi Coast with Sam Jackson on a boat called the Siren ... which is advertised at $680k-per-week during Summer high season.

It's 73 meters long -- has a movie theater, gym, dining room, hot tub, helicopter pad, an elevator ... and, of course, WiFi.

Johnson and his family boarded the yacht on August 1 after touching down in a private jet.

Some of the family has left -- but Magic and Cookie Johnson are currently traveling with their good friends, The Jacksons.

In previous years, Magic rented out a cheaper yacht -- The Amadeus -- which used to run him about $527k per week.

Seems like he's enjoying the upgrade -- Friday morning, Magic took one of his jet skis out for a ride off the coast of Positano.

Magic just turned 58 on Monday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Angelica Hale and Angelina Green, the 10 and 13-year-old singers who earned the coveted Golden Buzzer on "America's Got Talent" this season, are both bound for the finals and if either gal wins, they could make $1 million just off records.

We got a hold of the contracts that detail their exclusive recording, publishing and merchandise deals with Syco, the entertainment company owned by Sony and Simon Cowell.

Here's the breakdown ... the winner gets a $100k advance off the bat for their first album. Those advances jump to $100k-$200k for the second album, $100k-$225k for the third, $100k-$250k for the fourth and $100k-$275k if there's a fifth LP made. And that doesn't even include royalties.

They won't be spending it all in one place though ... 15 percent gets stored away in a trust till they turn 18.

The Roots are in the business of false advertising ... so claims its ex-drummer in a new lawsuit.

Frank "Knuckles" Walker -- who joined the band in 2002 but was cut loose back in May -- says the band is promoting performances as if he's still with the band. Frank also alleges the band never paid him his fair share of royalties.

In the suit -- first reported by the NY Daily News -- Frank says, by promoting appearances as if he's still a member, the band's using his likeness without permission. Frank adds that his legacy could be damaged if The Roots continue promoting gigs without admitting to fans he's no longer part of the group.

He calls the act despicable but doesn't elaborate on how the band shorted him. Frank's suing to get his cut and for The Roots to stop using pics of him to promote itself.

We've reached out to The Roots, so far no word back.

Diddy handled some legal business with a paparazzo who claims the rapper's bodyguards jumped him ... but it took more than 5 years.

Diddy finally settled with photographer Gustavo Garces who was allegedly attacked on New Year's Eve 2011 after he snapped some pics of Diddy in his car at a downtown Miami hotel. The photog sued Diddy and his 2 security guys, claiming they held him and punched him while the rapper ordered them to take his camera.

The terms of the settlement are unknown, but this usually means the celeb coughed up some dough to make it go away. We've reached out to both sides ... so far no word back.

Three major Tampa sports teams are pitching in to remove a Confederate monument from the city's courthouse in the wake of the backlash against similar statues in Virginia.

The statue in the middle of the controversy is the infamous Memoria en Aeterna -- a 106-year-old monument honoring the Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

Officials recently voted to remove the statue -- but only if removal costs were raised from private donors. The cost was estimated at roughly $150,000.

Enter the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs, the MLB's Rays and the NHL's Lightning ... which just stepped up.

"Recognizing that this monument does not reflect the values of our community, in collaboration with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, our organizations have dedicated funds to assist in moving the statue from the public space in front of the courthouse."

"Now more than ever before, we must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion as we all attempt to heal from the tragedy in Charlottesville."

No word on when the statue will come down.

Young Thug for Son of the Year award? He's got a helluva chance after handing his mom a $TACK to celebrate HIS birthday.

The rapper threw a huge party Wednesday night to ring in the big 2-6 at The Tago International Center in the ATL ... just across the street from 2 Chainz's 11th Street Studios.

Sure ... YT pulled all the stops to make sure the shindig was poppin ... with stars like T.I., Jacquees and Young Dolph. Young Thug's family also showed up ... including mama bear who was already shining bright -- that watch, tho -- before YT handed her a stack of 50 Gs to complete her look.

Ray J's had it up to HERE trying to strike a settlement with "Celebrity Big Brother" for kicking him off the show ... so he's gonna sue to get the dough he says he's owed.

Sources close to Ray J tell TMZ ... his legal team and the production company have been negotiating for months but talks have hit a wall ... so RJ's manager, David Weintraub, has given his legal team the green light to file papers.

The issue -- Ray J says 'CBB' agreed to pay him $1 million and he says the show's gotta cough it up because 'CBB' unfairly kicked him out following a dental emergency.

TMZ broke the story ... Ray J was booted from the UK show back in January after complaining of an unbearable toothache that required a dentist to visit on set, 8 pain killers and an ambulance ride to the hospital after blacking out.

The "American Idol" reboot seems to be in crisis -- honchos still haven't locked down a second, third and possibly fourth judge, with only 6 weeks until cameras roll.

TMZ broke the story ... producers first set their sights on Katy Perry, who will be pocketing $25 mil.

Our 'Idol' sources tell us ... none of the previous front-runners -- Lionel Richie, Charlie Puth, Luke Bryan or Keith Urban -- are any closer to signing than they were a few weeks ago. We're told record producer Nile Rodgers has now been tossed in the mix.

The issue with Lionel, we're told, is his team's asking around $10 mil ... double what they want to pay. 'A.I.' producers are also still debating whether to go with 3 or 4 judges. At this point it all comes down to money, but it sounds like they'd like 4.

Auditions for 'Idol' hopefuls kick off Thursday in Orlando, but filmed auditions in front of the judges don't begin until the end of Sept.

So there's still time ... but it's getting dicey.

There's a new upcoming music fest raising eyebrows in wake of the disastrous Fyre Festival ... and one man claims he's already been ripped off by it.

Simon Perez says in a new lawsuit ... he was hired by the Starfest Music Festival -- scheduled to go down next month in Plano, TX -- to book big musical acts for a 15 percent commission. According to the docs ... Starfest told Perez they'd already booked Drake, and had deep pockets for him to find additional headliners.

Perez claims he got busy and delivered offers to musicians like Deadmau5, Flo Rida, All-American Rejects, DJ Khaled, Macklemore and more, and was able to sign Deadmau5 for $500k in July ... which meant a $75k commission for himself. He says he also scored Flo Rida for the fest for $125k, meaning an additional $18,750 in commission.

Problem is -- Perez claims Starfest went behind his back to sign musicians on its own to avoid triggering his commission. He says Starfest denies he had any part in booking Deadmau5 and Flo Rida, and still hasn't cut him a check ... or even given him a cheese sandwich.

He's suing for damages and legal fees. He's being represented by Colony Law.

We've reached out to Starfest ... no word back so far.

Britney Spears is going back to the drawing board and redrafting her will ... all for the benefit of her 2 boys.

Britney's longtime conservators have filed legal docs asking for permission to change her will, which was drafted before she gave birth to Sean, now 11, and Jayden, now 10.

We've learned the current will simply provides ... when Britney dies her kids inherit her entire estate. Problem is ... they would get her entire fortune -- estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars -- when they turn 18. It's not wise to open the vault all at once to 18-year-olds.

Our sources say the new estate plan creates a trust for the kids, who will inherit her entire estate. But they will not have access to the entire fortune until they turn 35. The trust gives them limited access at 18, more access to the money at 25, but they won't get it all until they're eligible to run for President.

The trust also slashes the amount of inheritance tax the estate will have to pay.

The judge has to approve the change, but there shouldn't be any problem.

They thought they were slick ... dozens of websites aiming to livestream the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight for free.

But Showtime is preemptively striking the potential pirates with a big, fat lawsuit ... mateys.

The network is ripping a page from the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao playbook -- where they scouted out a bunch of potential illegal streaming sites and hit 'em with a legal blow before the fight.

There's obviously a TON of cash on the line -- some say the fight could bring in more than $500 MILLION ... so, they ain't lookin to let anyone skim from their pockets.

In the suit, filed in federal court, Showtime is asking a judge to issue an injunction to block the sites from streaming the August 26 fight -- and they'll probably get it.

The "We Love Manchester Emergency Fund" will distribute $324k to each of the families of the 22 people killed in a terrorist attack at Ariana Grande's concert.

Approximately $24.5 million was raised following the horrific attack on May 22 at the Manchester Arena ... where Ariana had just finished her concert seconds before a nail bomb exploded in the rotunda. The victims were as young as 8 and at least 59 people were injured.

Sue Murphy, the chair of the trustees of the fund, said "the payments will ensure the families benefit from the phenomenal outpouring of public support following the attack."

Part of the funds -- some of which came from Ariana's One Love benefit concert -- went to those who were hospitalized as a result of the attack.

Murphy said they'll look into how to distribute the remaining funds.