Money

Former "Dance Moms" star Nia Sioux's crossover into scripted TV on "The Bold and the Beautiful" is keeping her pockets deep now that she's no longer on the dance competition reality show.

We got ahold of her minor's contract for the soap opera and Nia, who's 16, is making $2,500 per episode. She's already appeared in 6 episodes this year.

Unclear how long her story arc will run but, if she does return next season, her rate goes up to $2,800.

Country star Martina McBride used interns to do her dirty work ... so claims a former employee who says he was fired for reporting her to authorities.

Richard Hanson is suing Martina and her husband, John, claiming the McBrides hired unpaid interns and assigned them menial tasks like cleaning bathrooms, setting up and tearing down equipment, and delivering food.

The most alarming allegation -- according to docs obtained by TMZ -- is that John once sent 2 interns to his home to check for an intruder, and handed them a loaded gun for protection.

Hanson says he headed up the internship program until 2017, and continually told the McBrides the interns needed to be paid at least minimum wage. He claims his pleas fell on deaf ears. He says he filed a claim with the Department of Labor and says John fired him in retaliation.

Michael Phelps is about to strike gold again ... this time on his Arizona home, which he's hoping to sell for $1.6 million more than he paid for it.

Phelps bought the house in Scottsdale a couple years back for $2.5 million. The 5-bedroom, 7-bath spread was brand spanking new at the time. It's now listed for $4.125 million.

The former Olympian and his wife, Nicole, welcomed baby no. 2 in February, so it's possible they're looking to expand ... although this pad ain't exactly small at 6k square feet. There are also 4 fireplaces and a 350-bottle wine storage.

John Schneider's gonna be behind bars for the next few days -- a judge just gave him jail time for not paying spousal support to his estranged wife, Elvira ... TMZ has learned.

The 'Dukes of Hazzard' star was sentenced Monday to 3 days in L.A. County jail for not making good on delinquent alimony he owed. As we reported, John was given a March deadline to pay up more than $150,000.

The judge at the time told him he had to transfer his property to Elvira to square things away, and he also had to resolve tax liens against the property.

He didn't ... so, now, in addition to the jail time, he'll have to do 240 hours of community service.

Offset's $150,000 diamond-studded chain is back where it belongs -- around his neck -- so police have officially closed the book on the once-missing bling ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us NYPD wrapped up its grand larceny investigation into Offset's chain, which allegedly got jacked while he was in town last month for the Met Gala. We're told cops saw Offset post a video showing the chain back in his possession, and that led them to consider the matter resolved. Sources say police believe the chain was returned.

The Migos rapper posted the video of the necklace safely around his neck, less than a week after the theft was reported. Offset bragged, "Still got my s**t. Come on, ya'll know better than that."

We broke the story ... Offset's chain was allegedly stolen from his NYC hotel room sometime after the Gala. Someone in his camp filed a police report, saying the hardware was worth $150k.

Insult comic Lisa Lampanelli went nuclear on a fan who tried to give her $100 to shut up in the middle of one of her gigs.

It went down Sunday at the San Jose City National Civic center. Unclear what Lisa had said that ticked the guy off, but Lisa offered to give him his money back for his ticket. Instead of taking her up on the offer, the guy handed her a hundo to "shut the f**k up," which ... let's just say didn't smooth over the situation.

It all went downhill from there. People who were there tell us Lisa then went postal on the crew manning the lights, and then went on a tirade after someone from the balcony called her a c**t.

The jeweler being sued by Drew Brees claims the QB is trying to shake him down because he's "cash poor" and needs the money ... this according to new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... Brees is suing Vahid Moradi claiming the jeweler ripped him off several times over the years on several high priced pieces, finessing Brees out of millions.

The jeweler says Brees has no one to blame but himself because the QB tried to offload the items before they had time to appreciate, including a 4.09 carat blue diamond he bought for $8 mil, which he later claimed was only worth less than $4 mil.

Now, the jeweler has filed new court docs saying Brees threatened to ruin his reputation unless he paid Drew $1 MILLION a year for 7 straight years.

He also claims Brees -- who's made more than $194 MILLION in his NFL career -- admitted he was "cash poor" and was "in need of immediate cash."

Ain't no rager like a Snapchat rager -- the social media company is commandeering one of L.A.'s most popular landmarks for the office party to end all office parties. Doggy-face filters for everyone!!!

According to docs obtained by TMZ ... Snap is closing down the Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier on June 16 -- a Saturday, no less -- for its annual event for employees and their families. Thousands are expected to attend the 5-hour, invite-only bash which is slated to begin at 11 AM.

The party will be catered with an open bar, of course, under about 2 dozen tents. Snapchat's also taking care of all Uber/Lyft rides to and from the event. It's unclear what the total tab is for this shindig, but renting out the 2 acres alone will cost around $100k. The company also has to cover costs for every vendor on the Pier.

TMZ broke the story ... Snapchat dropped around $4 mil to rent out L.A. Live on New Year's Eve.

Timing of the Pier bash is interesting. It comes a few months after Snap instituted a third round of layoffs as part of its "strategic restructuring." CEO Evan Spiegel reportedly said he wants the company to be profitable by the end of 2018.

The famous oak from "The Shawshank Redemption" is the ultimate giving tree, 'cause 25 years after the movie came out ... it's still giving fans a way to celebrate one of the all-time classics.

As we've told you, the tree where Andy left his note for Red before hightailing it south of the border, suffered severe damage in a 2016 thunderstorm. The owners of the Ohio property where it stood have been using the lumber to make collector's items, and they've got a special one to mark next year's 25th anniversary.

We're told some of the final slices of the trunk are getting a special engraving to mark the occasion and, yes ... they're for sale. $65 a pop.

They'll be available starting this weekend at Shawshank Hustle -- an annual race and festival in Ohio -- and also online.

Legendary racehorse trainer Bob Baffert knows a thing or 2 about winning big races, including that they require some luck ... which is why the King was by his side for Justify's epic win!

Baffert invited the Burger King mascot to join his party before his horse went wire-to-wire to take the Triple Crown Saturday at the Belmont Stakes ... because he considers him a good luck charm.

There's good reason for that -- the King made a surprise appearance behind Baffert in 2015 when his racehorse American Pharoah became the first to win the Triple Crown in 37 years.

With Justify in the same position after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Baffert hoped for a case of history repeating ... and the King worked his magic.

Taylor Swift just defied the expectations of a charity looking for some help with their upcoming gala by donating basketloads of items from her 1989 and Reputation tours.

Karim Siddiqui tells us he sent a letter to Taylor Swift’s team about the KAMS Foundation's upcoming event, thinking he wouldn't ever hear back. KAMS was started in honor of Karim's late cousin, Kamran, who died in a fatal motorcycle accident at 22, and it empowers underprivileged youth through sports and mentoring.

The foundation's inaugural gala is this Saturday in Chino Hills, California and Karim says, not only did Taylor's team hit him back on his cold call, but they sent over everything from Reputation shirts to 1989 sweaters, shirts, aprons, oven mitts, kitchen sets, tote bags, Christmas ornaments, keychains, scarfs, glitter bows and big bags.

Floyd Mayweather isn't ALL smiles over his top rank on Forbes' highest paid athletes list this year ... telling TMZ Sports he shoulda been technically No. 1 AND No. 4!!

"Conor's at No. 4 because of me," Floyd said of the UFC superstar he boxed back in August.

"I'm No. 1, and the guy that's No. 4 is because of me."

The shade over the Irish fighter didn't stop there -- especially when we asked if he thinks Conor can ever get to his No. 1 spot.

"Absolutely not. Conor McGregor can never get to No. 1 without Floyd Mayweather."

For the record ... Forbes credited Floyd with making $285 mil the last 12 months, and Conor with $99 mil. Their respective purses from their monster summer fight were estimated to be around $200 mil and $70 mil ... so Floyd might have a point.

They didn't get the silver, so the Vegas Knights will settle for gold ...

TMZ Sports has learned celebrity jeweler Boodaddy Diamonds is hooking up every single player on the Vegas team with a special gold pendant in honor of making the Stanley Cup Finals.

Yeah, we know ... they didn't win -- but the guys became the first expansion team in NHL history to get to the final round of the playoffs.

Boodaddy tells TMZ Sports he's incredibly impressed and wants to be a part of history so he designed a special gold pendant just for the team -- and he's giving it to them for free.

"It's definitely not gonna be cheap but I'll take care of it."

Cindy Crawford and hubby Rande Gerber are saying goodbye to their beach home, but they won't walk away empty-handed ... in fact, they'll be loaded with cash.

The couple just sold their private and secluded 5,254 sq. ft, 4-bed, 6-bath Malibu house for a cool $45 million, which sounds like a lot -- and is -- but it's actually $5 mil less than their asking price.

The place is located on 3 park-like acres and comes with a tennis court, fire pit, pool, spa, panoramic views of the ocean and a path to the beach. The home, built in 1944, was renovated by the celeb couple to form a one-of-a-kind beach compound.

5:40 PM PT -- And get this ... Kellen is telling friends he believes the incident was racially motivated. Kellen is claiming he was only at the mobile home park to check out a place for his mother-in-law to live when a neighbor freaked out when she saw a big black man who doesn't live in the community.

Kellen is telling friends he knows the owners of the home which he is accused of burglarizing -- they're friends of his from church. He's adamant ... he didn't take anything or do anything wrong.

Kellen Winslow Jr. is breaking his silence about his felony burglary arrest ... insisting he absolutely did NOT commit any crime.

The ex-NFL star issued a statement through his attorney, Harvey A. Steinberg, saying, "Mr. Winslow emphatically denies committing any burglary."

"He would have no need to burglarize or steal anything from anyone at a trailer park. He looks forward to being vindicated once this matter is fully adjudicated through the court system."

34-year-old Winslow was arrested Thursday afternoon in the San Diego area after cops say he broke into a mobile home community and stole something out of one of the units.

Lil Kim raps it's all about the Benjamins, and now it is for her, since she filed for bankruptcy last month in New Jersey saying she's $4 million in the hole.

According to legal docs, Kim owes $2 million on a loan for her NJ home and $1,845,451.74 in unpaid taxes, as well as $186k for legal bills.

She's offered to pay $5,500 a month to a creditor to sort it all out. There is a hearing scheduled for July.