Money

NeNe Leakes says she wanted to drop the hammer on the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" years ago ... but the execs blacklisted her, making it extremely difficult to take any legal action.

We got NeNe at LAX Monday, and she says getting constantly silenced by Bravo stopped her from filing her discrimination lawsuit for a long time.

She tells us she went from working constantly to getting nothing ... fans of the show know NeNe was the centerpiece of "RHOA" for years, before leaving in 2020.

She's hoping her lawsuit will help put an end to discrimination against Black women ... and thinks getting called out as a Black woman with blonde hair is grossly unacceptable.

As we reported, NeNe recently filed in federal court in Atlanta, accusing the folks behind the show of ignoring her complaints about years of racist remarks directed her way by fellow cast member Kim Zolciak-Biermann.

In the docs, NeNe claims Kim, who is not being sued, made racially offensive and stereotypical comments about NeNe and Kandi Burruss over multiple seasons.

She claims she complained about Kim's alleged comments to the execs behind "RHOA," but says Kim wasn't punished and was instead rewarded with her own spinoff series.

Bugging out at a Disney hotel has paid incredible dividends -- at least for one woman -- because we've learned the company is shelling out a small fortune to make her lawsuit go away.

Disneyland Hotel -- which is the quintessential go-to place to stay for any serious Disney fan visiting Anaheim -- recently settled a claim brought by Ivy Eldridge ... who alleged a few years back she'd gotten chewed out (literally) by a bed bug infestation in their quarters.

TMZ broke the story ... Eldridge claimed in 2018 that bed bugs were all over her room during her stay in the spring of that year, something she alleged the hotel staff failed to notify her although she claimed they apparently knew about it.

As a result ... she said she got bit up all over, and that the bed bugs were even sucking her blood to the point it caused a rash -- for which she claims she had to receive costly medical treatment that took her off the clock at work.

Eldridge even took photos of the alleged injuries at the time ... and yeah, they were indeed gnarly. This suit has been working its way through the pipeline for a while now -- but it appears it's finally reached its conclusion ... 'cause Eldridge's lawyers tell us Disneyland Hotel coughed up $100k to square this.

Her legal team -- headed by Brian Virag from MyBedBugLawyer, Inc. -- added, "Bedbugs don’t discriminate; they are found in hotels of all quality levels throughout the country and worldwide."

Johnny Depp was going to make a boatload of cash for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie that never happened -- a significant figure that could prove his damages -- according to his rep.

JD's ex-agent and current talent manager, Jack Whigham, took the stand Monday as Johnny's legal team continued to trot out witnesses on their client's behalf -- and during questioning, Whigam shed some light on what he believed Amber Heard's claims had cost Johnny.

Whigham claims there's no doubt in his mind Johnny lost his role in the planned 6th installment of 'Pirates' ... which he insists would've earned JD a whopping $22.5 mil.

Now, it's worth noting that during cross-examination ... Whigham admitted that the alleged deal was NOT something he'd gotten in writing yet -- which Amber's team latched onto -- but he explained ... that's not how the business goes.

Whigham claimed these sorts of talks with high-level actors and big studios -- especially as it pertains to franchises -- are often had on a verbal level first, and said studios will usually signal what an actor can expect for the next chapter, assuming one happens.

In this case, Whigham claims 'Pirates 6' was supposed to happen with Johnny in a key role -- obviously, he's the main character Jack Sparrow -- but that all came to a screeching halt after Amber's WaPo op-ed.

FIFA just hit Senegal with a $180,000 fine (175,000 Swiss Francs) ... after fans of the soccer federation shined lasers at Egypt's Mohamed Salah during a World Cup qualifying game last month.

It all went down when Egypt was taking on Senegal in a crucially important game in April. The game, tied after regulation, went to penalty kicks to determine who would advance.

Salah, one of Egypt's star players, as well other members of the club, had green lasers repeatedly and intentionally shined in their eyes/face as the team attempted their penalty kicks.

As a result, Salah and his teammates missed their penalty kicks, and Senegal won the match, 1-0 (3-1 PK), advancing to the next round.

Of course, spectators can't bring lasers to soccer matches, as they pose a danger to the public safety of the fans and athletes on the field.

However, that didn't deter fans -- seeking a competitive advantage for their respective soccer club. Now, FIFA officials have lowered the financial boom as a result of the fans' actions.

"As stated in the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations, laser pointers are considered prohibited items by FIFA and confiscated when the spectators are checked at the outer stadium perimeter," FIFA said after the incident.

"When incidents happen within the applicable scope of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, disciplinary measures may be taken based on article 16, paragraph 2,” which says teams are liable for inappropriate behavior from their fans."

As for how FIFA came up with the punishment for Senegal, the governing body said its disciplinary panel compared it to other cases from WC qualifying games where similar incidents happened.

Senegal must also play a future game in a stadium with no fans.

Floyd Mayweather may be retired from boxing professionally, but he isn't done making money ... in fact, "Money" says he plans to continue making bank into his 90s just like Warren Buffet.

The 45-year-old undefeated boxer posted a sweet video of his young grandson watching "grandpa" train. Floyd wrote the caption of his post to the young boy, and offered him some wise words.

"Grandson, I’m very thankful for your great Granddad teaching me the sweet science of boxing, to hit and not get hit. I believe in working smarter, not harder. I retired from the sport undefeated with all my accolades and on my own terms," Floyd wrote.

"Even in retirement, I’m still able to milk the game of boxing, continuing to make 8 figures or more. I will continue to do exhibition bouts making tons of money and people from all around the world will continue to pay because my hustle is just different."

FYI, Floyd's referring to his dad, Floyd Mayweather Sr., when he says "great Granddad"... a former fighter turned trainer who coached Floyd as he became the world's best and most popular boxer.

Then, Floyd made it clear ... just because he's done fighting professionally, that doesn't mean he's done making money.

"I will continue to do exhibition bouts making tons of money and people from all around the world will continue to pay because my hustle is just different. If Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and the Waltons continue making money in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, then I’m not retiring from making money and I’m younger than all of them."

Of course, Elon, Bill, Jeff, and Warren are 5 of the richest people in the world ... and are all at least 50 years old.

Here's a breakdown of age and money (according to Forbes).

Musk, 50, is the world's richest (known) man ... and has a current net worth of $251 billion.

Bezos, 58, is the third wealthiest person on Earth ... amassing a fortune worth nearly $148 billion.

Gates, 66, is right behind the Amazon founder (BG's 4th wealthiest) ... he's worth $130 billion.

Buffett, 91, is the oldest person Floyd named ... but the 6th wealthiest person hasn't slowed down. The "Wizard of Omaha" is still the Chairman and CEO of his massive holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren is worth $117 billion.

Now, Floyd's wealthy (he once made over $300 million for 30 minutes of work -- see Conor McGregor fight), but not that wealthy, yet.

The famous axe from 'The Shining' horror film is now in the hands of someone else (thankfully) ... cause it just sold for $175K!

Dylan Kosinski, reps for GottaHaveRockandRoll auction house, tells TMZ ... a successful businessman, who's a big fan of the movie, snagged the axe after winning a bidding war among 12 prospective buyers.

We're told the total price tag was $175K, after adding in a $35K buyer's premium.  The axe is made out of foam and resin, so it's lightweight ... it's been up for sale in the past, going for $61K.

As we've told you, this piece of memorabilia was used throughout the Stanley Kubrick horror movie ... especially toward the end. It's the same axe used when Jack Nicholson's character uses it to break through a wooden door ... before he says his famous line, "Here's Johnny!!!"

The Kubrick film, based on the Stephen King novel, also features the axe in several other scenes ... including the moment Jack kills Scatman Crothers' character, Dick Hallorann, and strikes him in the chest with it.

Sofia Franklyn is opening up about her falling out with Alex Cooper ... and while she says she's up for working things out between them, it won't be all sunshine and rainbows.

Sofia sat down on the "TMZ Verified" podcast and shared her side of her very public breakup with Alex back when they were co-hosting "Call Her Daddy."

Looking back, Sofia says there would be a few things she wishes they could have done differently ... like being less hot-headed and stubborn ... but even if that were the case, she thinks Alex was still willing to "stomp" on her on the way to a $60 million payday.

When the drama was going down, back in 2020, Alex publicly shared her side of the story which got a lot of attention ... but Sofia decided to stay silent.

Now that she's had some time to assess things and look back, Sofia says she would be open to working with Alex on a podcast or some other venture down the road ... as long as AC comes to her looking to make things right.

Don't get it twisted ... Sofia explains why any potential reconciliation and collab with Alex would not be a "Kumbaya" situation.

Bottom line for Sofia ... she and Alex have both moved on with their lives and careers, but she doesn't have any hate in her heart for her former podcast partner.

Charles Cross is unsure what to get his mom when the cash starts to roll in from his new Seahawks contract ... but she tells TMZ Sports she knows exactly what she wants -- a new home!

The former Mississippi State offensive tackle was taken by Seattle with the #9 overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft -- and with that slotting, he's set to make a whole lot of money.

So, a few hours after he got picked, we had to ask him -- what's the first purchase going to be?!

"I'ma do something for my mom," the 21-year-old said.

Charles, though, didn't know exactly what to get her ... but when we asked her, she made it pretty clear!

"A home," Cross' mother said. "Just a nice home."

Cross' mom told us she's very proud of her son -- who went from being a redshirt freshman to being named First Team All-SEC in 2021 ... adding that she and him are "very excited" to be the newest members of the 12s.

Adele is close to finalizing a deal to bring her Vegas residency to a new home ... with her sights set on a premiere date in a few months.

Sources with direct knowledge of the singer's plans tell TMZ ... she and her team are in serious talks with the people over at Planet Hollywood, and will do the show at Zappos Theater -- barring any unforeseen setbacks.

As we reported, Adele was supposed to do a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace earlier this year -- but the show was derailed and canceled after what she first claimed was a COVID outbreak, but then it came out the postponement was really over creative issues.

Our sources say there'll be some major perks for Adele at Zappos ... she'll have full creative control over the show. And, get this, we're told Adele will also rake in a large cut of ticket sales -- a significant enhancement considering Zappos holds 7,000 people compared to The Colosseum's 4,100.

As for the dates, the official schedule is still being worked out, but the aim is for a late summer start that will run through the end of 2022 -- makes sense considering she recently revealed she wants to have a baby in 2023.

You'd think there might be some bad blood between The Colosseum and Zappos with Adele -- but both venues fall under the Caesars Entertainment family -- so all is good.

Adele's been spending the last few months with her bf Rich Paul, taking in NBA games and even dropping in at a London gay bar for some fun.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers just unloaded one of his homes in Los Angeles ... and he got way more than he was looking for.

Our real estate sources tell us the actor sold his estate in the Hollywood Hills this week for $2,350,000 ... which is $500k more than the $1.85 million listing price.

Jonathan bought the mid-century style home way back in 2007 for just under $1.6 million and last month he put it on the market.

The place is 1,679 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms ... featuring an open floor plan with exposed steel beams and floor-to-ceiling windows opening up to the lagoon pool.

We're told Jonathan sold the home in part because his family is looking to spend more time abroad this summer ... and let's face it, he's gonna make a HUGE profit.

Jonathan's got another home in Malibu ... where one of his neighbors is suing him for trespassing. Unclear if he plans to sell that place too.

Future NY Giants star Kayvon Thibodeaux was shinin' brighter than the Las Vegas lights -- with this insane 40-carat diamond pendant the DE rocked while being drafted 5th overall by the G-Men.

Jeweler Saki Diamonds tells TMZ Sports he made KT the iced out chain to honor his "Jream" (pronounced dream) foundation ... where Kayvon helps underprivileged kids.

"It meant a lot to me," Saki, a former football coach (before he switch professions), told us.

The pendant looks just like the Jream logo ... with a little boy reaching for the stars in the cloudy sky. It's filled with 40 carats of canary yellow, black and white VVS diamonds.

And, if the piece wasn't cool enough ... the chain and pendant are both reversible!

"He can have 4 different looks in one chain and pendant," Saki said.

Saki says it also glows in the dark ... "when the lights go off on the pendant, you still see the clouds and the stars."

The Jacksonville jeweler says the 1st round pick came up with the idea and it took two weeks to get the piece ready for his big night.

Kayvon wasn't the only athlete wearing Saki's work at the draft ... former Georgia Bulldog Nakobe Dean copped an iced-out rose gold Cuban link chain and a two-tone Cuban bracelet.

Garrett Wilson -- who went 10th overall to the NY Jets -- was also seen rockin' a Saltwater Akoya pearl necklace and Cartier shades.

Saki -- whose client list ranges from NFL's Marlon Mack to Za'Darius Smith -- says it's an honor they chose him to put something together for a life-changing moment.

A man in Washington just struck gold ... by turning $265 into $200K after hitting a 12-leg parlay bet on a series of MLB games!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the lucky individual secured the bag on Thursday, earning over 700 times the amount of cash he put down.

A rep for BetUs -- the online sportsbook where the winning ticket was played -- tells us they don't release their customers' names, so the identity of the winner remains a mystery.

The sportsbook says the guy bet on 6 teams to win moneyline -- meaning he had to pick a winner outright -- and the rest of his picks were on "over/under" bets or totals.

His bets were as follows:

San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels moneyline.

The over/under or totals were Reds-Padres (Over 8), Pirates-Brewers (under 7½), Rockies-Phillies (over 7), Nationals-Marlins (under 8) Braves-Cubs (under 8½), and Yankees-Orioles (over 8½).

BetUS exec Tim Williams tells us, "Believe it or not, we really do love to see our valued customers hit big payouts -- and this young man from Lakewood, WA sure knows how to pick some winners!"

Williams says he hasn't spoken to the man who won the $200K, but he "hopes he has a great summer" with his new fortune.

Kyle Gordy, a sperm donor with 47 biological kids and counting, can't seem to find a girlfriend ... he says women don't want to get into a relationship with him.

The 30-year-old fears his success as an independent sperm donor is to blame for his dating woes ... telling Jam Press most women aren't interested in seeing him, and the few who give him a chance end up bailing before long.

Kyle doesn't have an issue with suitors, problem is ... women only want him for his semen ... and not in a romantic way.

He estimates 1,000 aspiring mothers have hit him up for semen -- he's been donating since he was 22 and now does it for free over social media -- and says he's fathered 47 kids across the globe with another 10 on the way.

Kyle says tons of women hit him up on Instagram, but just to seek his swimmers ... and he says it's making it difficult to find a real connection, and seems resigned to the fact his dating life will never go back to the way it was before he started donating.

The guy's currently on a "sperm donation tour" around the world ... recently visiting Germany and Scotland ... so there's hope he finds a special lady somewhere.

Kyle's willing to settle down and start a family of his own, but admits it will take a very special lady to accept him for who he is ... explaining he usually fesses up about his lifestyle right out of the gate.

Ex-Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, is a very, very rich man -- his estimated net worth is $1 BILLION -- well guess what ... he could increase his wealth by 25% just by selling his home!!!

This is an eye-popping, record-breaking listing ... his massive Malibu estate just went on the market for $225 million. Before you scoff at this, let us tick off the amenities.

The main house is 25,000 square feet. But wait, that's just one structure. There are 9 buildings in all on the 5-acre property, including multiple guesthouses. It's even got a cabana on a bluff with its own elevator that will take you down to the beach!!!

It has one of the greatest swimming pools of all time ... with a sweeping view of the Pacific.

And, then there's a gym, a massive theater and, get this ... a tunnel that connects the pool area to the theater. Hopefully, the new buyer's guests won't jump from the pool to the theater's velvet sofas.

Kurt Rappaport, a celebrity realtor who himself is a land baron, has the listing. And, speaking of Kurt ... if this property sells for anywhere near asking, it will break an all-time sales record for California. The current record is $177 million for another Malibu estate. P.S. Kurt sold that one too!

Tennis legend Boris Becker was just sentenced to 2.5 years in prison after being convicted last month on charges he moved a large sum of money after declaring bankruptcy ... in an effort to hide the funds.

As we previously reported, 54-year-old Becker -- a 6-time Grand Slam winner -- was convicted by a jury earlier this month on multiple charges under the Insolvency Act in Britain ... including charges he concealed assets and debts.

Becker was also found guilty of transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars (well, pounds) from his business account to other accounts after declaring bankruptcy in 2017.

The judge who handed down the sentence said the former #1 ranked tennis player will have to serve half of his sentence, according to CNN.

And, it could've been much worse for Becker ... who was facing up to 7 years behind bars after his conviction.

The judge didn't spare the 3-time Wimbledon champ from taking a verbal beating during sentencing ...  the judge ripped into Boris as a remorseless criminal.

"I take into account what has been described as your fall from grace. You have lost your career and reputation and all of your property as a result of your bankruptcy," the judge said, according to the Press Association.

"You have not shown remorse, acceptance of your guilt and have sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy."

The judge continued ... "While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility."

As for Becker ... he seemed somewhat remorseful at times, even saying during his trial that he was embarrassed over the bankruptcy scandal, and even offered to part ways with his wedding ring to help satisfy his debts.

Travis Scott's team is coming out swinging against the creators of a documentary that takes aim at the tragic events of the Astroworld music festival ... calling it a pathetic money grab.

The "propaganda piece," as Scott's reps have dubbed it, is called "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy" and started screening in Texas on Friday.

The movie's director, Charlie Minn, told the AP the project isn't intended to be a hit piece against Travis, but rather a recounting of the devastation from that day.

Clearly, that's not what Travis' team thinks, calling it a, "... farce financed by and containing content from members of the plaintiff's legal teams, who, weeks after a tragedy, sought to exploit and benefit financially from it, with the clear goals of making money and swaying future juries and public opinion."

Interestingly enough, attorney Ricardo Ramos, who represents plaintiffs in multiple Astroworld cases is a producer for the film, and actual plaintiffs from the lawsuits are also featured in the film.

They also go in on Minn, saying, "It's a profit play and a publicity stunt, with no support from the film industry, no distribution, and from a director with no respect from his field who has been termed a "trauma pornographer."

For what it's worth, Minn has been critical of Travis' actions during the festival in the past, telling the Houston Press, "I think he'd be a lot more nervous if he didn't know the mayor and police chief. The police had all the authority to stop things, and the show should have been stopped by the third song. It was a dangerous, evil joke."

The documentary features several concertgoers from that day, most blaming Travis for not seeing what was happening in the crowd.

TMZ broke the story, several Houston Police officers were seen watching Travis and Drake perform while things got worse in the crowd -- apparently unaware of the severity of what was going on.

As we reported, 10 people died from "compression asphyxia" as a result of the events at Astroworld. The investigation continues as to who or what was responsible for the deaths ... but several lawsuits have pointed the finger at Travis and promoter Live Nation.