Money

The verdict is in and Damon Dash isn't gonna like it -- he has to cough up more than $800,000 to the director and producers of a movie he tried to claim as his own.

According to docs obtained by TMZ, Dash took the L Wednesday morning ... when the jury sided with director Josh Webber and Muddy Water Pictures who made the feature film, "Dear Frank" -- starring Brian White, Claudia Jordan, Nick Turturro, Lil Durk and Columbus Short.

The filmmakers sued the Roc-A-Fella co-founder 3 years ago for copyright infringement and defamation, alleging he tried to shop and advertise the movie as his own ... despite Dash getting dropped from the project.

To make matters worse, they say Dame sent promo material of the movie to outlets like BET, but changed the title to "The List."

Let's rewind a bit ... Josh and Muddy Waters say Damon was supposed to direct the film starting in 2016, but they claimed he wasn't fit for the job because he was often high on set while filming his Sherman Oaks property.

They cut him in 2018 and completed the movie without him. Damon fired back, claiming they shot the movie at his house and used his equipment, before stealing the footage to work on it without him.

The jury didn't see it that way, and now Dame's got a hefty tab to settle. Attorney Chris Brown repped the plaintiffs and tells TMZ, "I will get every penny due to my clients."

Jon Gruden lost his job in Vegas -- and now he's officially given up his home there as well ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the former Raiders head coach just officially sold his mansion in the desert for $7 million.

The 58-year-old put the 8,684-square foot palace on the market back in February following his infamous ousting from the Raiders ... and it didn't take long for it to sell.

We're told the sale just closed recently -- and it's clear from the pics of the place, the buyer is going to be happy with the purchase.

The pad features retractable floor-to-ceiling windows along with five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a chef's kitchen and a climate-controlled wine cellar.

The property's backyard is decked out too, with an infinity-edge pool, spa, fire pit and BBQ area. It's also got beautiful views of the Nevada mountains.

Heidi from Lifestyle LV tells us the listing also included an empty lot (also owned by Gruden) that's adjacent to the mansion. The final price tag was $7,025,000.

As we previously reported, Gruden -- who began coaching the Raiders for a second go-around back in 2018 -- resigned on Oct. 11, 2021, after it was revealed he sent emails in the past that contained racially insensitive, misogynistic and homophobic language.

Facebook is determined to beat out its biggest rival, TikTok ... going so far as to hire a major political consulting firm to smear its competitor with an elaborate nationwide campaign.

Facebook's parent company, Meta, is paying Targeted Victory -- a GOP consulting firm -- to turn Americans against TikTok and ultimately steer young users back to FB ... according to the Washington Post.

In an internal email obtained by WaPo, one of the firm's directors says Targeted Victory needs to "get the message out that while Meta is the current punching bag, TikTok is the real threat, especially as a foreign-owned app that is #1 in sharing data that young teens are using."

The firm's tactics include targeting TikTok through op-eds and letters to the editor in regional news outlets, recruiting politicians, political reporters and public relations firms to help turn the public against TikTok and planting negative stories about the Chinese-owned app.

You might have seen some of the negative press ... like stories about the so-called "slap a teacher" TikTok challenge, which actually started on Facebook.

Targeted Victory is a huge digital consulting firm within GOP circles ... receiving $237 million in Republican campaign spending during the 2020 election cycle. It's unclear how much Meta is paying the firm.

Jerry Jones says the woman who accused him of being her father in a lawsuit earlier this month attempted to extort him before she made the allegations in court documents.

Jones made the claim in court docs of his own -- filed in Dallas County, Texas, on Monday -- alleging Alexandra Davis approached him to "make a deal" before she filed her lawsuit.

Jones claims Davis asked him to pay up in exchange for assurance "that he would not be publicly or privately identified and/or declared as [Davis'] father."

In the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Jones says the request was one of "multiple monetary extortion attempts" made against him and the Dallas Cowboys at the time.

Jones, though, says he declined Davis' offer ... so she filed the suit.

In Jones' docs, he argued that Davis' case should be tossed -- saying her hypothetical claims about him being her father belong in family court, if at all.

"She is not entitled to the relief she requests," Jones' attorneys argued in the docs, "and the Court does not have jurisdiction to grant it."

A hearing in the case has been set for March 31.

As we reported, Davis -- a 25-year-old who works for a U.S. congressman in Washington, D.C. -- sued Jones back on March 3 alleging the Dallas Cowboys owner is her dad. She claimed in the suit that he paid her mother $375k "in exchange for confidentiality" 24 years ago.

Some lucky bidder is walking home with a cool artifact from "The Wizard of Oz" ... 'cause the Tin Man's oil can just sold for $250K!

The highly sought-after can went up for auction via Kruse GWS Auctions and was expected to fetch around $200k -- but ended up snagging another $50K when it was all said and done.

Still no heart, though. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Tin Man's can -- it's a real one, btw -- was used while filming the 1939 classic, and it's one of the only original items left from the character's costume ... the rest of it's gone missing. Jack Haley, who played Tin Man, got the oil can as a parting gift after filming wrapped.

The cool memorabilia was put up for auction for the first time ever, earlier this year ... so it makes sense why it was in such high demand.

The tin can was previously on display at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum.

As movie memorabilia collectors know, 'Oz' artifacts always garner huge interest. One of the 4 existing pairs of Dorothy's ruby red slippers once sold for $2mil!!!

Kim Kardashian isn't your average soccer mom ... at least not when it comes to the wheels she uses to chauffeur her kiddos and their orange slices to games.

Check out the inside of Kim's custom luxury Maybach van, complete with multi-color roof lighting, folding tables, seat heaters and coolers and reclining captain's chairs throughout.

That stuff alone would probably warrant the astronomical $400k Kim dropped for the ultimate mom ride, but as they say ... there's more!

The van also features leather seats with diamond stitching, and that must-have kid distraction ... TV screens in all the seat partitions.

Kim recently scooped this up from her pal RD Whittington, who owns Wires Only ... an automotive and aviation company that specializes in custom whips for celebs.

Not only did Kim buy the luxury mom-mobile through his company, but she also agreed to document the buying process on RD's hit reality show, "Million Dollar Wheels" on Discovery+. Her episode premiered this week.

We should note ... Kim's not the only one in her fam to buy one of these fancy vans. Kanye bought one from RD as well, and recently took it out while grabbing ice cream solo.

Now their kids will have equal luxury with both parents. Co-parenting at its finest ... and most expensive!!!

Speaking of Ye -- he and Kim made big progress over the weekend when they came together with their kids to cheer on Saint at his soccer game.

One famous feline is helping other animals in need ... raising $10k for animal relief in Ukraine!

Stepan the cat, whose Instagram account Loveyoustepan has 1.2 million followers, started collecting money over PayPal last week, looking to donate to 5 different animal charities in Ukraine ... as of Monday, they've raised $10,035!

The five charities -- Happy Paw, UAnimals, Mykolaiv Zoo, XII Months and Plyushka -- will help in a variety of ways, providing aid to animals in Ukraine affected by the war.

Stepan and co. have been documenting their journey, leaving Kharkiv and fleeing to France. They were woken up at the end of February to explosions that shook their windows ... seeing neighboring houses burnt before their very eyes.

Their house remained untouched for an entire week, until a shell flew into their neighbor's balcony, affecting their building. After escaping to France, they started the fundraiser, asking those able to help to donate what they could.

FYI, this isn't an ordinary cat ... he's caught the eyes of millions, including Britney Spears, who even reposted the kitty on her social media.

Stepan was rescued when he was 1 month old and has lived in Ukraine his whole life. He went viral on TikTok in 2019, appearing with his famous glass of red wine with Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" playing in the background.

Katy Perry is moving to greener pastures -- if Beverly Hills can be considered a pasture --  because TMZ has learned she just listed her estate for a fortune.

Katy bought the house in 2017. It's just under 6,000 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. It has the obligatory pool, a gym, a sauna and a cold plunge. It also has private hiking trails. And maybe most impressive ... a long-ass driveway -- we're told it's the best one in the neighborhood.

Speaking of neighbors, they include Penelope Cruz, Adele, Zoe Saldana, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicole Kidman and Ellen.

She bought the house for $18 million, so she'll make a few bucks.

As for where she and her fam are moving ... that's unclear, but she does have an estate in Montecito -- home of Oprah -- where she spends a lot of time with Orlando and Daisy.

It pays to be a fan of Floyd Mayweather -- literally -- 'cause the 50-0 boxing legend is hooking up a verrry lucky fan with $100,000!!

TMZ Sports has learned Mayweather hosted a giveaway for fans ... and randomly picked a fan to hook up with the money.

James McNair, President of The Money Team, tells us ... "When you are associated with Floyd and his businesses anything can happen on any given day that will change your life."

And, changing his life is exactly what the fan says Floyd did for him.

In fact, Mayweather reached out to the fan -- who had to like, RT, and join Mayweverse Discord (JM says they picked up over 75K members in a week), among other rules -- directly through Instagram direct message ... and broke him with the incredible news.

As for the actual NFTs, Floyd is dropping 5,000 through the Mayweverse (his non-fungible token company) that he designed with McNair ... and we're told it's a space TBE intends to stay in for the foreseeable future.

Drake pulled a rare, 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card -- and 5 other valuable MJ's -- live on Instagram, and they're worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!!

The hip-hop superstar -- who's been heavy into card collecting lately -- busted open a bunch of boxes of top-of-the-line cards, including Flawless and 1986 Fleer boxes with Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions.

FYI, a box of Flawless alone goes for $46K ... and Drizzy had 10 boxes.

Goldin was opening cards while Drake sat alongside watching. Then, it was Drake's time to take over cracking the packs.

First pack ... a 1986 Fleer MJ rookie that could be worth well in excess of $200K! Depending on the grade, the card has sold for anywhere between mid-50K to over 700K.

Talk about good luck. But, there was more.

Drake ultimately hit on 6 Jordan's ... 3 rookie cards and 3 stickers, before he and Goldin shut down the IG Live.

Kodak Black is headed overseas to make bank, but in asking permission to do so ... he told the judge he plans to donate a big chunk of his earnings to charity.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kodak says he needs to travel to Dubai to perform a concert next month and make some paid appearances as well.

In the docs, which the court approved, Kodak says he'd be in Dubai from March 28 to April 3 ... adding he'd be traveling with his security team and music producer.

In his motion to travel for work purposes, Kodak points out he's been allowed to travel domestically for work and claims he's been keeping his nose clean lately.

Kodak stated if he were given permission, he plans to donate 10% of his earnings in Dubai to charity.

The rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... a prominent businessman invited Kodak to Dubai for paid appearances at jewelers, nightclubs and exotic car dealerships, plus a concert.

Kodak's attorney says his client already picked out where he wants to donate at least some of his Dubai earnings ... the college funds of the children of 2 Pennsylvania State Troopers who were recently killed by a suspected drunk driver. Cohen says he's reached out to the PA State Police Association to try and set up a donation.

This year's Oscar nominees have nearly $140,000 in gifts at their fingertips -- but before they claim their loot ... they might wanna consider Uncle Sam, who'll want his cut.

Every year, actors who get a nod from the Academy are also afforded a sweet goodie bag that's worth a bundle -- and this year is no different, with marketing company Distinctive Assets offering up a ton of prizes that, if claimed in full, are valued at $137k and change.

The gifts up for grabs include everything from an all-expenses-paid trip to Scotland with a 3-night stay at a fancy castle ($50k), free construction for a home renovation ($25k), a comped 4-night visit to a luxury spa resort ($15k), a plot of land in the U.K. and a noble title, free lipo ($12k) ... among lots of other perks in the form of services/experiences, or pricey objects.

Might sound cringe -- indeed, it has sparked outrage for a variety of reasons -- but here's the kicker ... the more gifts they claim from the lot, the more they pay down the road.

Yep, we're talking about taxes here ... and all signs point to a hefty bill if a majority of these gifts are accepted and/or used. Everything the nominees claim will be viewed as taxable income -- and some experts speculate that they can be taxed at a rate of 50% or higher!

Of course, that probably isn't lost on the stars themselves ... who may not take up any of the offerings being presented. In fact, Distinctive Assets founder Lash Fary explains that just about $5,000 of the swag bag is made up of actual stuff they can take home ... the rest are services/trips. So, if a majority of the gifts go unclaimed, the bag isn't worth as much.

Still, the fact they're trotting out these gratuitously expensive carrots for the nominees at all -- something that's been going on for years, BTW -- has made some wonder... what's really important right now?

You might run into someone you know at the supermarket and stop for a chat -- but when you're as rich and famous as this group here ... you do it on a fancy-schmancy runway.

Check out these photos of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis casually bumping into Leonardo DiCaprio at the Van Nuys Airport Friday as they each seemed to be coming from and going on respective trips. This is where A-listers escape L.A., BTW -- forget LAX.

Word is, MK and AK were coming back from a getaway, and Leo was heading out. But, along the way, they ran into one another and exchanged pleasantries -- specifically, Mila and Leo.

As you can see, LDC was sitting down and smoking a cigarette, when Mila suddenly comes up to him ready to fist bump -- which Leo was happy to reciprocate. Looks like Ashton might've been busy getting their stuff ... no sign here of him and L-dog together.

Later, Mila was seen with her husband loading up bags into a car ... and Leo was left with his ciggie alone. Now, as for what they might've talked about -- there's lots of possibilities.

Of course, one of the topics that very well could've been brought up is Ukraine -- and each party's involvement with contributing financial aid to the country as they fight Russia. Ashton and Mila recently got a shout-out from Zelensky after they raised north of $35M.

Leo, for his part, is also said to have donated some dough to orgs that support Ukraine -- but he was falsely reported as having donated $10 mil of his own money ... a piece of fake news that got circulated online, which was debunked by the Associated Press.

An Applebee’s franchise executive had a bright idea on dealing with inflation ... pay employees less.

Wayne Pankratz -- a bigwig at American Franchise Capital, which owns and operates 50 Applebee’s locations throughout the Midwest -- spewed his corporate fat cat vision to his colleagues over an email, which leaked and has since gone viral.

In the memo, Pankratz muses that the higher gas prices being felt across the country could actually benefit their Applebee’s business -- namely, by forcing more people into the workforce out of desperation, which he thought would be great to exploit in lower wages for new hires.

Yep, it’s as bad as it sounds ... take a look for yourself -- he says as much clear as day here.

There’s more ... the guy goes on to describe much of their employees as “paycheck to paycheck” people -- and that too, he says, can help them in putting a little extra squeeze on their hourly rate. Since their disposable income would be depleted amid these higher prices, he theorized their Applebee’s restaurants would likely see an increase in applicants, who would be more likely to take less money than other hospitality jobs that might pay better.

Pankratz also gives the federal government a shout-out for finally putting an end to all the stimulus checks, which he believes has also forced people back to working for a living ... and which he also sees as a pro for his would-be plan.

It’s a bizarre economic philosophy, and it has NOT been well-received online ... frankly, people are tearing into this dude and Applebee’s by extension. Both his investment firm and Applebee’s corporate office have distanced themselves from him. Pankratz has reportedly been placed on leave, and each org has said his thoughts don’t represent their values.

Jake Paul tells TMZ Sports he's dead serious about an MMA fight with Conor McGregor ... saying even in an Octagon, under UFC rules, he'd KO the Irish star.

Paul has called out McGregor a bunch of times over the last couple years ... but now, more than ever, he seems ready to make the tilt actually happen.

And, this time, he tells us he's willing to go onto Conor's turf to do it.

"Conor is on a downhill spiral," Jake said. "His limbs are all broken. So, stand-up game, I'm coming out and knocking him out, first round."

Paul tells us he and McGregor weigh the same now, and he's legitimately looking into leaving boxing for MMA to make the fight.

Jake also said he wants to throw down with McGregor in the UFC in order to try to persuade Dana White to give more of the company's revenue to fighters.

"If I win, then Dana has to increase the minimum of fighter pay," Jake said. "If I lose, then they can take all of the money and whatever and so be it."

"But, I know I can beat Conor."

If the matchup with Conor doesn't happen, there's still a chance Jake heads to MMA for his next fight regardless. He tells us he's been in talks with Bellator and PFL -- "and other MMA entities" -- to try to hammer out some kind of deal to potentially fight in a cage.

Several pairs of Virgil Abloh's Off-White collab with Nike are hitting the auction block ... but they're even more rare than usual -- they're actually signed by the late fashion icon.

TMZ Sports has learned ... one pair included in Sotheby's Modern Collectibles catalog is the Air Jordan 1 x OFF-WHITE "UNC" ... which features the famous "Off-White For Nike" label and red zip tie.

These blue and white sneakers are also signed by the fashion icon -- reading "Virgil 2018" on one shoe and "HODEI" (which means cloud) on the other.

The bids for the Js have already surpassed Sotheby's initial estimate for the sneakers ... which was $10k.

There's another signed pair in this auction ... the yellow and green Louis Vuitton "LV Trainers" that debuted in 2019 when Abloh was the luxury line's artistic director.

The shoes are signed "Air Abloh" and come with two Polaroids of him posing with them. These, too, have already exceeded the max estimate of $12k.

But, for those who want it all, "The Ten" collection features the first ten designs Abloh had with Nike when he signed with the Swoosh in 2017 -- it's considered one of the "most ambitious" collaborations with Nike and is expected to sell for $40k.

This is not the first time Sotheby's has auctioned off the legend's sneaks -- in fact, 200 pairs of his LV Air Force 1s sold earlier this year for a "record-breaking" $25.3 million.

Of course, getting your hands on any sneakers by Abloh will be tough and expensive ... especially after the fashion designer's death in November 2021.