Money

Chris Rock has shed a smidge of light on how he feels about Will Smith slapping him at the Oscars -- but says he won't reveal more until he receives one thing ... cold, hard cash.

The comedian told a live audience Friday that he would not be talking about the Oscars until he was compensated, presumably meaning somebody ponying up for his exclusive account ... this according to a report from the Palm Springs Desert Sun, which detailed his set in Indio, CA and the material referenced as Chris continues his national comedy tour.

Here's what Chris reportedly said in full ... "I'm OK, I have a whole show, and I'm not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back."

The strange thing ... if Chris means he's waiting on a network of some sort to pay him for a sit-down, ya gotta imagine he and his team have already been approached by every broadcast company in the game at this point. Maybe they just haven't offered enough???

Of course, another, slightly more sinister way to interpret his remarks ... perhaps he's talking about a civil lawsuit against Will himself, where he could potentially get paid that way too.

Or, he might just be joshing altogether ... it's unclear how serious this comment is, but considering the context -- Chris seems to be in good spirits and carrying on well. In any case, the Desert Sun has more deets about what's in Chris' set -- and it's interesting.

They say he took a lot of shots at celebs and politicians, including Hillary Clinton, the Kardashians, Meghan Markle and others. He also reportedly made fun of corporations and their diversity initiatives -- while also invoking his family life, being single and cancel culture ... as it relates to offending people these days. The DS says he got a standing O in the end.

It does seem Chris is opening up more and more as his tour rolls on -- remember, in his initial shows out in the East Coast ... all he said was he's still processing the smack.

Now, it appears he's finding some humor in the whole thing -- that, or just masking how he really feels with his comedy chops. Time will tell if/when Chris speaks on this officially.

Boris Becker has been convicted by a jury of his peers who believed he committed bankruptcy fraud, and he could spend years behind bars as a result.

The 54-year-old tennis great was convicted on multiple charges, including concealing assets and debts, and we're talking about more than a million bucks in debt.

It wasn't a total loss ... Becker was acquitted on 20 additional charges, including allegations he failed to turn over his Olympic gold medal and Wimbledon awards to the bankruptcy trustee.

Boris now faces 7 years in prison. He's free on bail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for later this month.

Becker was mum on the verdict. As you probably know ... he was an unstoppable force in tennis, winning 6 Grand Slams.

During the trial, Becker admitted he squandered his fortune -- $50 mil -- on his first divorce, child support and an extravagant lifestyle.

Betty White's beachfront treasure is going to make someone new very happy -- her estate has a buyer for the Carmel, CA home.

The house is a gorgeous 3,621 square feet on Cali's scenic Monterey peninsula, and it features 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms with views of the local beaches from almost every room.

Betty and her husband Allen Ludden bought the plot of land back in 1978 for $170K, and completed construction on the home in 1981 -- sadly, just a few days before Allen died from stomach cancer. Betty reportedly wanted to live her final days at this home, but instead had to live in L.A. where at-home care was more accessible.

A blooming garden in the backyard overlooks the ocean, and a wide terrace gives homeowners the perfect view at any point in the day. The listing for the home was pretty on the mark with the phrase, "Here, paradise is yours."

The surrounding area features an assortment of walking trails, and steps out the back gate lead directly to the sand.

The estate accepted an offer this week, but the sale is still pending. Nicole Truszkowski and Zak Freedman of Sotheby’s International Realty held the listing.

Oscar De La Hoya wants to sign Gervonta "Tank" Davis to Golden Boy -- if the boxing star is truly a free agent. And, his pitch?? Let's make big checks and big fights ... like one with Ryan Garcia!

"I'll sign him! Absolutely," De La Hoya told us this week in Beverly Hills, alongside GF Holly Sonders. "Then make him fight Ryan. Biggest fight in the last decade."

Of course, boxing fans have been wanting this lightweight battle for the longest time ... featuring two of the best and brightest young boxers in the world. Ryan and Tank have been rivals for years, and occasionally engage in some good ol' fashion trash talk.

But, the fight hasn't yet come to fruition ... in part, because Ryan was promoted by Oscar, and Tank, Floyd Mayweather (TBE and ODLH ain't exactly friends). But, now that Gervonta's contract with Mayweather Promotions is reportedly up, De La Hoya wants to lock up the undefeated knockout artist.

"I wouldn't mind making a three-fight deal with him just to make the Ryan fight happen," De La Hoya said.

"Tank, give me a call! Get a hold of me whenever you are free, if you are free."

ODLH added, "I respect Mayweather. Great career with Mayweather, he promoted you amazingly but if you're free, I'm here. Let's make the fight happen with Ryan Garcia."

And, along with the big fights would come big paychecks.

"We'll make him a lot of money. I've been in this business for 22 years, so I've promoted the biggest fighters, including Mayweather. So I'll get him a s***load of money."

Garcia is set to return to the ring against 32-1 Ghanaian boxer Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

It'll be King Ry's (21-0m 18 KOs) first bout since January 2021 ... and first return after taking a break to work on his mental health.

"Yeah, it's been 15 months, man, since he's been off so he's looking great," De La Hoya said.

"Hopefully, he'll knock out Tagoe and then we can go straight to Tank Davis."

We also asked De La Hoya if Garcia -- who signed with Golden Boy Promotions in Nov. 2016 -- is on the path to becoming one of the greatest Mexican fighters ever ... like himself and Canelo Alvarez.

Jovan Vavic -- a former USC water polo coach -- was found guilty by a federal jury on Friday for his part in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal ... the same bribery case that put Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli behind bars.

As we previously reported, Vavic, USC senior associate athletic director Dr. Donna Heinel, ex-USC women's head soccer coach Ali Khosroshahin and ex-assistant soccer coach Laura Janke were all indicted in 2019 for taking money from rich parents to get their kids admitted into prestigious schools.

Vavic was accused of getting two fake recruits into USC, taking $250k and getting other coaches involved in the "Operation Varsity Blues" scandal.

The 13-time national coach of the year was arrested on March 12, 2019 and charged with fraud and bribery -- the only coach to stand trial rather than taking a plea deal.

His trial began three years later ... and on Friday, the Boston federal jury found the 60-year-old guilty of conspiracy to commit mail, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.

Former "Grey's Anatomy" star Jesse Williams is getting his monthly child support payments drastically reduced after his income plunged following his exit from the show ... according to new legal documents.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, say Jesse's original payments of $40,000 a month have been "temporarily modified" to $6,413 ... following last month's request from the actor.

As you'll recall, he asked for his monthly payments to be reduced since his switch from TV to Broadway profoundly affected his bottom line ... telling the court he was currently earning $1,668 per week on Broadway with the production "Take Me Out."

As we reported, Jesse and ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee reached a child custody agreement at the end of February ... the judge denied her request to reduce his physical time with the kids.

This has been one of the bitterest divorces in Hollywood.

The Instagram model covered in blood after her boyfriend's stabbing death proudly talked about needing to be in control of her relationships and only dating "rich Black men" just weeks before he was killed.

Courtney Tailor went on the "We In Miami Podcast" we're told just 2 weeks before Christian Tobechukwu Obumseli's death. A newly surfaced clip from the interview makes her taste in men pretty clear -- "Let me clarify, I only date rich Black guys."

As the interview goes on, she reveals she doesn't like being controlled in her life ... saying she never wants to be told what to do.

As we reported, cops responded to a domestic violence incident Sunday ... they found 27-year-old Christian with an apparent stab wound. Christian was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows Courtney handcuffed in her luxury apartment in Miami with her clothes are covered in blood after the event.

Police have yet to announce Courtney as the woman in the video, but Lee Merritt, an attorney working with Christian's family, says she's the one.

The family of "The Walking Dead" star Moses J. Moseley has created the perfect way to honor the actor's legacy by starting a scholarship in his name.

Moses' sister, Teera Kimbro, tells TMZ … the MJM3 Fitness Scholarship came to be after she read the actor's journal after his passing. He had 5 goals written down for the year -- buy a condo, create a cartoon series, go to Germany for his birthday, start a fitness t-shirt brand, and create a scholarship.

She tells us Moses did a survey in college, trying to determine if student debt was a source of depression among college kids ... giving him the idea to create a scholarship and help with students' mental health.

After learning about his goal, Teera knew the idea had to live on, which is when the MJM3 fund was created -- the "3" comes from him being the 3rd child in the family.

The scholarship through Bold.org will provide 3 qualifying high school seniors or undergrads with $1,000 each to go towards their tuition. His family knows Moses would be proud that his legacy is making a difference in the world.

The first comic book ever to feature Captain America just sold at auction for a near-record price.

The winning bid for "Captain America Comics No. 1" came in Thursday at a whopping $3.1 million ... which is not far off from the $3.6 million someone shelled out in 2014 for the first comic with Spider-Man.

The comic book, which introduced fans to Captain America and his trusty sidekick, Bucky, was published way back in 1941 ... and this one was in near mint condition.

The issue, sold through Heritage Auctions, is 45 pages and the cover features imagery of Captain America punching Adolf Hitler and fighting the Nazis.

Here's the top prices for other superhero comics ... the first appearance of Superman went for $3.2 million in 2014, while the first comic with Batman fetched $2.2 million in January 2021.

The $3.1 million sale price for "Captain America Comics" puts it in the top 5 most expensive comics ever sold.

This same issue has grown in value over the years ... it was previously sold at auction twice before, fetching over $25,000 in 2010 and $915k in 2019.

The Chicago Cubs used Opening Day on Thursday to raise awareness for the war in Ukraine -- flying Ukrainian flags at Wrigley Field and donating raffle proceeds to victims.

Cubbies officials hung the Ukrainian flags all outside of the stadium ... with roughly a dozen of the flags being placed around the famous venue's facade.

Inside the stadium, Chicago donated proceeds from the 50/50 raffle to Ukrainian relief efforts.

The team also had Ukrainian American Youth Association Choir hit the field before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers to sing the Ukrainian national anthem.

As we reported, Ukraine has been in need of support since late February ... after Russian troops invaded the country.

A huge collection of Betty White's personal items are going up for auction, with pieces spanning over her 8-decade career.

The items are going on the block in September, courtesy of Julien's Auctions in Bev Hills, and the treasure trove includes signed scripts, wedding bands and her popular outfits.

The collection will be displayed in various countries around the world before ending up at Julien's ... countries like Chile and Ireland. The collection will also make its way aboard the Queen Mary 2's Transatlantic Voyage.

The auction house says, "We are honored to work with her Estate in this exclusive presentation of these precious artifacts and personal mementos from her storied life and career which will be offered for the first time at auction to the public, museum curators and her legions of fans worldwide."

Kanye West is already a very wealthy man, but his bailing on Coachella left an enormous amount of money on the table ... millions and millions of dollars.

Sources with direct knowledge of the deal tell us ... Ye's deal was $8 million for his 2-weekend-long Sunday headlining gig. We're told in addition to that, Coachella was dishing out $500,000 in production costs.

However, while Kanye and his team only alerted Coachella festival that he was backing out at the last minute, it appears he hadn't been serious about taking the Coachella stage for quite some time, if ever.

Our Kanye sources say Ye really hadn't seriously rehearsed for a performance that some artists take months to prepare for. We're told he did have a team in place that was actively talking to Coachella producers, but there was still a ton of work to be done.

We're told the Coachella producers were caught completely off guard, with no plan B.

TMZ broke the story -- Kanye's spot has been filled by The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia. Our sources say The Weeknd will earn the same amount as Kanye.

Page Six was first to report the money.

Two men have been hit with several felony charges in Southern California, after police say they found enough fentanyl to kill 4.7 million people ... in one of the largest busts the county has seen in 16 years.

You read that right. Police arrested 36-year-old Edgar Alfonso Lamas and 53-year-old Carlos Raygozaparedes ... after authorities found 821 lbs of meth, nearly 190 pounds of cocaine and 20.5 pounds of fentanyl pills inside a minivan pulling out from an Orange County, CA home.

As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose. The Orange County DA previously warned it would be cracking down on drug dealers ... even saying murder charges would be on the table in cases involving drugs like fentanyl that all too often result in a person's death.

Both guys now face a list of felony drug charges and a max sentence of 37 years and 4 months, if convicted.

Mark Wahlberg is getting out of Beverly Hills -- his massive estate there just hit the market ... and he is going to turn a HUGE profit considering what he first paid for it way back when.

The actor has listed his BH compound -- which includes a main mega-mansion with 12 bedrooms and 20 baths, plus a separate guest house -- for a whopping $87.5 million ... he first bought the land in 2009 for $8.25 mil and spent years building the home.

Overall, it's 30,500 square feet of living space ... covered in European limestone.

No matter what amount Mark settles for, he's obviously coming up big in the black ... we're talking tens of millions of dollars based on nothing but good old-fashioned real estate appreciation. Not bad!

As for the property itself ... it's literally Los Angeles luxury defined. It's got a full-blown library/study room, a waterfall pool, a grotto, tennis court, basketball court, a private spa, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, a fully-equipped gym, a movie screening room -- and even separate quarters for any hired help, plus a media entry space!

There are other amenities that you should see for yourself ... seriously, this place rocks.

Like we said ... Mark's been soaking in this palace for well over a decade. Now, he seems ready to move -- because it's for sale and up for grabs. Whoever the new owner will be is someone that's gotta have deep pockets ... because this purchase is no walk in the park.

The house is listed by mega-realtor Kurt Rappaport.

Ballerina Kirsten Bloom Allen is pulling off the near-impossible ... getting life-saving supplies to a fellow dancer in Ukraine, who's been forced to put aside his true passion so he can defend his country.

Oleksii Potiomkin says he wanted to help his fellow Ukrainians and protect his family at all costs, but supplies were scarce. When he and Kirsten joined us Wednesday on TMZ Live, she explained why she refused to sit by idly while a fellow dancer was in need.

Kirsten tells us she reached out to Oleksii online -- they knew each other through dance -- and they created a list of things needed for the Hospitallers, a volunteer paramedic group he joined that tends to Ukraine's wounded soldiers.

Kirsten says she shipped the supplies to another ballet dancer in Amsterdam, who took them through Poland and to Oleksii in Ukraine. Now, she's launched a fundraiser, hoping to get more supplies into the country such as medical supplies and food.

Oleksii tells us this war is forcing people from all walks of life to step up and fight for the cause. He started helping people on his own with medicine and aid, even before joining the Hospitallers.

Heroic and inspirational -- both fitting words for what Oleksii and Kristen are doing to protect Ukraine, and to help others heal.

YK Osiris is in talks with the family of the 14-year-old who fell to his death from an amusement park ride, saying he wants to do his part by covering funeral expenses.

We talked to YK Tuesday at LAX, where he told us he's already talking through the process with Tyre Sampson's family. The rapper says he'd also like to be in attendance for the funeral, if they'll have him.

YK says he decided to get involved when ICON Park in Orlando, FL wasn't acting fast enough, in his opinion, so he wanted to make something happen for the family.

As we reported, 14-year-old Tyre was visiting ICON Park a few weeks ago when he fell to his death from the "Orlando Free-Fall" ride. The attraction, which just opened in December, reportedly plummets at 75 mph.