Money

4/27 3:46 PM PT -- Cardi's attorney, Paul LiCalsi at Robins Kaplan LLP tells us, "After a full investigation of the facts, we will be responding to these allegations in detail in court. But even on it's face, Shaft's claim raises a huge question. For a hefty commission, a manager promises to carefully counsel and guide an artist in her or his career.

He continues, "In exchange, the law imposes a high fiduciary duty on the manager to always act in the artist's best interest, not engage in conflicts of interest, not overreach, and not self-deal."

Cardi B is on the receiving end of a lawsuit by her ex-manager, who claims he turned her from an Instagram wannabe to a star and she repaid him by giving him the shaft.

Speaking of shaft, a guy with that name claims he began working with Cardi B in 2015 after she sought him out, hoping to propel her from social media to music stardom.

Shaft (real name Klenord Raphael) claims in a new lawsuit, he taught her the ropes of the music biz and orchestrated her relationship with VH1's "Love & Hip Hop."

Even more significant, Shaft says his contacts and personal team of writers and producers are responsible for her megahit, "Bodak Yellow."

Shaft goes on to allege her monster hit allowed her to secure major record and publishing deals worth millions.

He's also claiming she defamed him by telling her fiance, Offset, and others he robbed her blind. Shaft says last December, Offset texted him and said, "[U] better stop play acting like u don't know u taking her sh** from her u a snake. U can't hide from me N**** and u not bout to play my WIFE."

Shaft blames Cardi's makeup artist/publicist for poisoning her against him.

Shaft's rep tells TMZ, "Since discovering Cardi B in 2015, Shaft has played an integral role in developing her music career and public image. While he is proud of their successful collaborations as she evolved from Instagram influencer to music megastar, Shaft is disappointed by her actions to freeze him out of her career, which are detailed in the complaint."

The rep continues, "Shaft is confident that his lawsuit will validate his conduct and substantiate his legal claims."

He's suing for $10 million.

This video is pretty great!!!!

Meet Taven Bryan -- a 6' 5", 290-pound defensive tackle from Florida, who's predicted to be a 1st round draft pick! He's also super nice.

He's out in Dallas with his family and we asked how he plans to spend some of the MILLIONS he'll get from his first big contract.

"I might pay off my parents' bills," Bryan said. Sweet, right?

His dad happened to hear that answer and SHOT DOWN THOSE PLANS QUICK!

Why, you ask? You gotta watch.

But, the moral of the story ... the entire Bryan family seems to be looking out for each other and it's pretty cool.

Deontay Wilder tells TMZ Sports he's offered CRAZY money to Anthony Joshua to make their mega-fight happen, and if Joshua passes, it's proof the Englishman is a COWARD.

Joshua had previously said he'd have no problem fighting Wilder for $50 million dollars upfront ... a demand so crazy that some thought it was his way of backing out of the fight.

It might have backfired, because when we got Deontay at LAX he told our guy they put the money together, and sent over a deal to Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn.

"I just sent them what they wanted. They said they wanted 50 mil ... and he'll fight, you gotta be a man of your word."

Wilder says the fight would take place in the United States -- after all, his side is putting up all the money -- and insisted the ball is now squarely in Joshua's court to take the fight or not.

"I'm just ready to do what I got to do."

Blake Griffin is adamant he does not owe his baby mama any money ... after she accused him of abandoning her and their kids for Kendall Jenner ... in courts docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... Brynn Cameron -- Blake's former fiancee and the mother of his 2 kids -- filed a lawsuit in February claiming the Pistons superstar left her only a week before their wedding.

Brynn claims that she and Blake had an agreement ... where she would take care of the kids so he could concentrate on basketball. She says Blake promised to take care of her financially.

But Cameron says Griffin bolted ... and didn't live up to his end of the bargain.

Michael Cohen has given notice to Stormy Daniels ... she's not getting any information from him under oath, because he's pleading the 5th.

Cohen filed a declaration with the court in Daniels' case, saying, "Based on the advice of counsel, I will assert my 5th amendment rights [against self incrimination] in connection with all proceedings in this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney ..."

Cohen is asking the court to put the civil case on ice while the FBI investigates. In his declaration, Cohen notes the FBI executed 3 search warrants on his residence, office and hotel room and seized various electronic devices, and it all relates to the civil action filed by Daniels.

Russell Simmons and one of the women who accused him of sexual assault are no longer headed to court ... the lawsuit's been dismissed.

Jennifer Jarosik sued Simmons for millions of dollars, claiming he'd sexually assaulted her after she denied his advances. According to docs, the suit was dismissed Wednesday morning. It was dismissed with prejudice ... meaning she can't refile.

Typically, that's a sign there's been a settlement. Reps for Simmons had no comment.

The dismissal comes a couple weeks after Simmons filed a pretty strong response to the lawsuit, claiming Jennifer had sent him text messages and nude photos after the alleged assault.

1:29 PM PT -- Sources close to SJP tell us the actress was hit with several additional requests from the company after she'd already signed an original deal. We're told none of the new demands were in the first contract.

Our sources say the new requests included -- 50 Instagram posts a year, bring Kat Florence to 4 events per year, wear the jewelry to 24 events per year PLUS at all award shows, wear one piece to all magazine shoots AND do 12 International magazine interviews per year discussing the jewelry.

A rep for SJP tells us, "Kat Florence reneged on their contract with SJP. They have refused to compensate her after fulfilling her contractual obligations and continue to use her image for advertising and publicity to promote their brand."

Sarah Jessica Parker made a multi-million dollar deal to launch a new line of jewelry, but hasn't come close to holding up her end of the bargain ... according to a new suit.

Jewelry designer Kat Florence claims she and SJP teamed up in October 2015 to promote a new line of jewelry, design a special line of high-end products named after them ... and open 3 luxury shops in Europe with Parker's help in opening at least one of them.

Problem is, according to the docs, SJP signed a $7.5 million deal -- which was supposed to be for a 5-year commitment -- and began bailing on it almost immediately after the ink dried.

Florence claims Parker informed her she wouldn't be able to promote anything for 5 months because she was filming for her show, "Divorce," refused to attend jewelry events but promoted other personal ventures ... and refused to attend the launch of the London store, saying she was too busy.

As a result, the special line of SJP jewely was allegedly never launched and the London shop had to close.

Kanye West and his legal team are working to deliver on Ye's promise to take over the consumer world, by slapping YEEZUS trademark protection on everything from audio recordings to kitchen appliances.

West fired out several tweets Wednesday that mentioned his growing of the Yeezy brand, saying he had 160 positions to fill. If his trademark filings are any indication of Ye's plans, the rapper might soon need more than 160 employees to help build his brand.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Kanye's refiled to protect just about YEEZUS everything ... athletics, cosmetics, a kitchen line, bedding, games, paper goods, press campaign buttons, clothing and so much more.

Kanye's also filed docs for a new California company called Yezzy Offshore Inc. at the beginning of the month.

Ye first filed the trademark docs in 2014, but later abandoned those in 2017 ... so it appears he wants to swoop everything back up again -- whether it's YEEZY or YEEZUS.

Something tells us Kanye's new lawyers are gonna be real busy over the next few months.

Wayne Gretzky REALLY IS the great one ... he just bought back the famous SoCal mansion he once sold to Lenny Dykstra for MILLIONS less than he sold it for!!!!

Gretzky had sold the palatial 6.5-acre estate in Thousand Oaks, CA to Dykstra for $18.5 million back in 2007 -- back when Lenny was still being hailed as a financial guru.

Dykstra was later exposed as a fraud and his kingdom fell apart -- and the bank eventually foreclosed on the property. Dykstra famously trashed the home he left for good.

The home recently went up for sale ... and Gretzky swooped in and picked it up for $13.5 MILLION, according to the L.A. Times.

AMAZING, RIGHT!?

In case you're wondering, the place is BALLER AS HELL ... 12,000 square feet of living space, 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, a gym, movie theater, tennis court and TWO guest homes.

More money problems for Plaxico Burress ... the ex-NFL star's mansion is in foreclosure after he allegedly fell behind on the mortgage, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court docs filed in New Jersey ... Burress and his wife Tiffany stopped forking over mortgage checks on their 5,500 square foot pad back in July 2017 and the bank is looking to collect.

Property records show Burress and his wife bought the home back in 2005 for $1.5 million.

Now, the bank is demanding Plaxico and his wife pay the full balance on the home -- around $700k -- or they'll seize the property.

Interesting considering Plaxico reportedly made more than $29 MILLION during his NFL career.

Just a few years ago, Plaxico got into some trouble with NJ tax officials after he fell behind to the tune of $48k. He eventually paid that money back and avoided prison time.

The hero who took down the Waffle House shooter is now bringing together Hollywood liberals and famous right wing conservatives -- they've all joined forces to raise money for him!

Jon Cryer, Kristin Davis and Busy Philipps -- along with conservative author Mike Cernovich -- have each made significant contributions to a GoFundMe page for James Shaw Jr.

In fact, Davis tweeted, "I just donated and it feels good! Good to help someone who stood up and did the right thing, thank you James Shaw Jr! And I love everyone who is donating too!"

The fundraising effort was launched by journalist Yashar Ali, who says he was so inspired by Shaw's story ... he wants to raise money for a college fund for Shaw's daughter or to help him take his family on a nice vacation, whichever he chooses!

So far, Ali has raised more than $50,000 for Shaw!!!

FYI, Shaw is a REAL LIFE superhero -- who singlehandedly charged the Waffle House gunman in Nashville and ripped away his gun, ending the killing spree.

Other stars who have contributed ... Ike Barinholtz and Natasha Ziff.

Waffle House has offered to pay for the funerals of the 4 people killed in its restaurant in Tennessee over the weekend ... and will help to cover the medical expenses of those injured.

A rep for the company tells us they've reached out to the families of the victims of the attack to help in any way they can. We're told the restaurant chain has offered to pay for all funeral and medical costs associated with the attack.

Four people were killed and another 4 injured when 29-year-old Travis Reinking entered the restaurant with an AR-15 and opened fire.

WH's director of PR, Pat Warner, says the company's CEO and Senior Management team has personally visited with victims and their families to offer condolences and assistance during the difficult time.

We're told company honchos have developed a personal relationship with James Shaw Jr. -- the man responsible for disarming the gunman -- and have offered assistance to him as well.

Reinking was arrested in a wooded area Monday after more than a day on the run. His motives for carrying out the shooting are still unknown.

Joey Lawrence officially settled his bankruptcy case, but it's not hurting his game in Hollywood ... at all.

Joey, who got the bankruptcy judge's sign off 2 weeks ago, hit up Craig's restaurant in WeHo Monday night ... an expensive proposition for sure. He left in a brand new Dodge Challenger Hellcat, which retails for around $60k minimum.

It's interesting, considering Joey had a 2014 Bentley, a 2016 BMW i8 and a 2015 Ford Flex repoed.

According to the bankruptcy docs, Joey claimed he had $8k to his name in the bank and $60 in cash.

Gina Rodriguez just added another pooch to her dog family ... an adorable 9-week-old Havanese that cost $2.5k.

The "Jane the Virgin" actress pulled the trigger Sunday at Citipups Chelsea in New York City. We're told she came in several times last week to spend time with the dog, and then finally brought her other pooch, Casper, in over the weekend to make sure the two got along, which was a success.

Gina had another dog, Ted, that passed away about 2 years ago, so looks like she's trying to get Casper another pal while she pulls long hours on the "Jane the Virgin" set.

The Havanese pup was neutered Monday, so Gina will be able to take him home this week once the pupper has recovered.

Vanilla Ice's ex wants to prevent a fire sale in the wake of their impending divorce -- which apparently has already gotten underway with him unloading their jet skis.

VI's estranged wifey, Laura Van Winkle, filed legal docs asking a judge to stop the rapper from selling off any more of their shared assets without her permission.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Laura says Ice is in possession of nearly all of the couple's marital assets, so she can't prevent him from doing what he wants with their stuff without a judge stepping in. Oh, and she wants full accounting of his haul from the jet skis' sale, too.

Sounds about right ... Laura filed her original divorce petition in 2016. She asked to be allowed to stay in the family house and for child and spousal support ... plus attorney's fees, of course.

This split is turning out to be colder than ... forget it.

Keshia Knight Pulliam is now a single woman ... her divorce was just made final.

Under the terms of the divorce, she gets primary custody of their one-year-old daughter, Ella Grace. Ed Hartwell gets visitation rights. They had a fight over the child's last name -- each wanted theirs. In the end, they compromised on Ella Grace Pulliam-Hartwell.

He also has to pay $3,007 per month in child support.

The divorce was granted on grounds of adultery and cruel treatment. Keshia was represented by Tanya Mitchell Graham.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Hartwell admitted during the trial he lives with his lover, Tonya Carroll, who's pregnant with his child.