Money

Taylor Swift's highly anticipated new album hit a glitch on Spotify Thursday night when the streaming giant literally crashed as her record dropped, causing mass confusion online.

The Grammy-award-winning artist released her 10th album, "Midnights," right at the stroke of midnight and, not coincidentally, that's when Spotify went down.

But, things got right back on track for Taylor ... as Spotify quickly repaired the problem so her millions of "Swifties" could enjoy the music.

During the outage, though, her fans went into panic mode on social media.

“Spotify crashed following the release of Taylor Swift’s new album #TSmidnighTS,” one freaked-out fan wrote, adding, “something went wrong.”

“YALL DONE BROKE SPOTIFY," said another nervous fan.

A third "Swiftie" said, “Spotify literally broke for like a minute!!! I was in panic mode,” before a fourth posted the app’s error message, tweeting, “Really @Spotify? On a night like this? I am fuming #TSmidnightTS.”

But, all's well that ends well. Taylor treated her "Swifties" to a special edition of the album with seven extra tunes that dropped 3 hours later on Spotify.

Jay-Z famously sips on D'Ussé, but he no longer wants to own the liquor brand -- TMZ Hip Hop's learned he's selling it to his partners at Bacardi, but he suspects the company's playing a high stakes "shell game."

As we first reported ... Jay's filed docs demanding Bacardi open up the books on its 50/50 partnership with him on D'Ussé -- the top-shelf cognac they've co-owned since 2012 -- and now we know why.

According to docs, Jay's company, SC Liquor, exercised its right to a buyout about a year ago. Under their agreement, Bacardi now has to "negotiate in good faith" to come up with a fair price for Jay's stake in D'Ussé. Therein lies the problem ... Jay thinks they're not playing fair.

In the docs, SC Liquor says Bacardi's subsidiary, Empire Investments Inc., is trying to "stall and stonewall" all efforts to get financial info on the valuation of D'Ussé.

Keep in mind, no one's done more than Jay to hype the brand, shouting it out in countless verses -- and after a year of Bacardi dragging its feet, Jay thinks their endgame is lowballing him on the price.

Even further, Jay accuses Bacardi of mismanaging in all sorts of ways with the intent of lowering profits.

As for how much it might be worth -- the documents reference a potential value, but Jay's lawyers redacted those numbers. We do know both sides are not seeing eye-to-eye on the value, because they've each thrown out a potential value -- again, it's redacted -- but Jay described their number as "well below" fair value.

If you're wondering why Jay-Z -- who's already a billionaire many times over -- might be haggling over the price, there's BIG liquor money at stake here. Remember, George Clooney and Rande Gerber sold their stake in Casamigos tequila back in 2017 ... for nearly $1 billion!!!

Zion Williamson's NBA return was one for the books ... but before the Pelicans star hit the court at Barclays Center, he received a custom "Terror Squad" chain from Joey Crack himself, Fat Joe!

TMZ Sports has learned Joe wanted to hook up the NBA superstar with something nice, so he gifted him a custom TS piece made by Avi Davidov, owner of Pristine Jewelers in NYC.

The chain's made with gold and diamonds ... and there really wasn't a special occasion outside of the South Bronx rapper being a fan of Williamson.

But, Zion didn't just walk away with the Terror Squad piece ... Avi tells us he also copped a new timepiece that took the jeweler 10 days to make, and is worth 6 figures!

With Zion's latest purchase, he joins Diddy, Meek Mill, Nas, DJ Khaled, N.O.R.E., and Gucci Mane on the list of celebs who own a timepiece from the world-renowned jeweler.

Before Wednesday night's game, Williamson hadn't played an NBA game since May 2021 ... thanks to a foot injury that sidelined him for the entire 2022 season.

"Southern Charm" star Naomi Olindo is a two-faced business owner who screwed over the woman who helped her start a profitable online clothing store ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Naomi is being sued by Ginny Cox, who claims she helped Naomi start up a successful clothing brand, L'ABEYE, only for Naomi to go behind her back and force her out of the biz and misappropriate company funds.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Cox claims Naomi came to her in 2018 seeking help in starting an online clothing store because of Cox's experience in retail fashion. Cox says Naomi offered her a 50% ownership stake and promised to handle the business and marketing side.

Cox says she poured in her heart and soul to start the brand with Naomi, logging tons of hours making the e-commerce venture into a profitable business ... but she says while Naomi told her she was a co-owner and was presented as a co-founder on the company's social media, she claims Naomi actually controlled the money and withdrew more than her fair portion of the profits while paying Cox less than her 50% share.

What's more, Cox says she only drew a modest salary from the biz while Naomi used company funds to line her own pockets and pay personal expenses.

Cox claims Naomi recently fired her from the company and took the position that Cox was never a 50-50 owner of the business ... so Cox is dragging her to court over the falling out and wants to collect what she claims she's owed.

Cox is going after Naomi for damages and she wants to be recognized as an equal co-owner in L'ABEYE.

Naomie's lawyers, Benjamin Joyce and Ellis Lesemann, tell TMZ ... "Our client does not comment publicly on pending litigation. However, obviously these allegations made by a disgruntled former employee are false and misleading. We will soon be filing a formal response to these allegations that will help set the record straight."

Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann is suing one of the sport's biggest legends for $100 MILLION ... because he says the guy made up claims that he cheated during a match.

Niemann played Magnus Carlsen -- a five-time reigning World Chess Champion and the highest-ranked chess player ever -- at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis back on Sept. 4 ... and, in Niemann's words, "soundly defeated" him.

Afterward, the 19-year-old budding superstar danced on Carlsen's grave, taunting him during an interview ... and that's when Niemann claimed all of the trouble began.

The chess player, in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Missouri, said 31-year-old Carlsen couldn't accept defeat, became "enraged" ... and launched an all-out attack on his rival.

Niemann says Carlsen fabricated a story that he had cheated to win the match. Days later, when the two were supposed to run things back at the Julius Baer Generation Cup ... Niemann says Carlsen "gutlessly forfeited the game after making one move" and then repeated the "false" cheating accusations against Niemann.

Niemann says the ramifications of Carlsen's lies were endless.

He claims that despite several independent and unbiased sources clearing him of any wrongdoing during the Sept. 4 match ... Carlsen used his partnership with Chess giant Chess.com to essentially blackball him in the chess world.

He says in the suit that the org. banned him from its website and all of its future events -- which comprise the majority of the world's most prestigious chess tournaments.

Niemann says he's suffered irreparably from Carlsen's defamatory allegations ... and is suing for NINE figures.

Festival organizers are working to put the legal fallout from Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy behind them ... reaching a settlement with one victim's family, marking the first known settlement of all of the cases surrounding the deadly music festival.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, who reps the family of Axel Acosta, tells TMZ ... the family settled out of court after suing Travis, Live Nation and others.

Remember ... 21-year-old Axel died from injuries suffered at the November 2021 concert. Buzbee previously told us Axel traveled all the way from Washington to see the Houston festival and was a huge Travis fan.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, Buzbee says, and the family wants people to remember Axel as a "beloved son, brother and student" who was also "kind and loving" and is "greatly missed."

While Travis is done with the first of the many lawsuits against him ... the legal side is far from over. There were 10 people in total who died at Astroworld, and Travis is still dealing with lawsuits filed by others impacted by the tragic incident.

'Rust' being a western flick, it's fitting authorities in New Mexico are now reportedly saying either pay up or get outta town.

The troubled movie production will begin hunting for locations to shoot, including Southern California, this according a statement from a 'Rust' attorney to Deadline.

As for why the Alec Baldwin western may be bailing from New Mexico ... Deadline reports there are legal issues. The production was fined $136,793 by the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau for "willful and serious" workplace violations ... something the production is fighting. There's apparently no way the production could get permits until that issue is resolved.

There were also allegations the production owes others money that is long overdue.

Of course, there's also the tragic, accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. One insider connected to the production told Deadline, "It's emotionally difficult for the crew and the cast to return to the same place."

Howard Stern is ripping Kanye West apart ... comparing him to Adolf Hitler while calling the rapper and his fans out for using mental health as an excuse for his racist outbursts.

Howard didn't hold back on the latest episode of his SiriusXM radio show ... referring to Kanye's recent interview with Chris Cuomo -- saying "you gotta hear the s*** this guy's into".

The host was hesitant about giving any more energy to the rapper ... but draws a shocking -- and ironic -- comparison, saying "Kanye used to be fun crazy. Now he’s like Hitler."

He then poses this idea to Kanye -- "If a newspaper article doesn’t point out the fact that you’re some sort of designer or genius, maybe that’s not because they’re Jewish, but maybe because they just don’t put that much thought into who the f*** you are and what your business is."

As we reported, Kanye's been digging a DEEP hole over his antisemitic comments ... telling Piers Morgan his "death con 3" comments towards Jewish people were racist, and meant for it to be taken that way.

Stern also goes after Kanye's defenders who are pointing towards his mental health struggles as an excuse  ... "If he’s so mentally ill, why don’t they appoint a conservator over his money like they did with the poor Britney Spears?”

Stephen Curry took a moment to honor Brittney Griner during the Golden State Warriors' championship ring ceremony on Opening Night -- wishing the hooper a happy 32nd birthday and supporting the efforts to bring her home.

"We want to continue to use our platform and the opportunity to shoutout a very special member of the basketball community -- Brittney Griner's birthday is today," Curry said before the Warriors hung their fourth banner in eight years.

"She's 32 years old. We want to continue to let her name be known. And, we pray that ... it's been 243 days since she's been wrongfully incarcerated in Russia. We hope that she comes home soon and everybody's doing their part to get her home."

Griner, who's been in custody in Russia since February, briefly thanked her supporters during what should have been a special day ... saying in a statement, "Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home."

"All the support and love are definitely helping me."

As for the Warriors, their rings (made by Jason of Beverly Hills) are incredible -- they feature 16 carats of yellow and white diamonds set in yellow gold to represent their 16 wins in the playoffs.

It's the first championship ring to be made up of mostly yellow diamonds -- in honor of the team's "golden age."

They also have a special secret compartment ... which reveals the number of trophies each player has individually won over the course of their career.

There are seven carats of yellow cushion cut diamonds on the bezel to mark the team's total championships in franchise history ... and 43 baguettes in the bridge of the logo on top for Curry's 43-point performance in the Finals.

Halloween is right around the corner, and some die-hard fans are getting the chance to get their hands on some actual props from their favorite horror flicks.

Prop Store online auction house has a ton of gear -- from Freddy to Jason and more -- about to go up on the block, but the prices might scare the you-know-what outta you.

There's plenty of Jason Voorhees memorabilia to go around ... like the entire get-up worn in the 2003 "Freddy vs. Jason" flick. It features a coat, jumper, long-sleeved T-shirt, pair of trousers and a belt ... and even comes with an autographed undersuit. The 'fit is estimated to sell for $20 to $30K.

There's also Jason's infamous hockey mask worn in the 1989 flick "Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan." It's expected to fetch between $40K and $60K.

"The Omen" fans can relive the making of the 1976 film with this production-used clapperboard ... it's estimated to bring in between $6k and $8K.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda has a new way to make a quick buck ... and no, it ain't bargain hunting -- he took home the pot at a South American poker tournament, winning some serious cash!!!

Rene tells TMZ ... he beat 339 other players to take 1st place at the Enjoy Poker Tour in Punta Del Este, Uruguay over the weekend. That was after he also placed 11th in the High Roller event.

The storage hunter won a total of $70,455 for his victory in the main event -- some big poker players like Phil Hellmuth and Chris Moneymaker shouted him out on Twitter, congratulating him on his big W.

The event, hosted by America's Cardroom, seemed to wear down Rene a little bit ... saying he started out strong but would begin to get some pushback from the other players.

Dak Prescott has a new teammate -- it's Kylie Jenner!!

The Dallas Cowboys superstar and model/business mogul have linked up to become equity stakeholders in a new sparkling drink company called Glow Beverages ... as well as brand ambassadors for the product.

Jenner got right to work and made the move official on Tuesday by posing in a bikini and taking a sip from a Glow bottle ... saying, "It’s the GLOW for me. I’m excited to join the @drinkglow team."

No word on whether Dak will also post hot shots of his own to promote the company ... but he's clearly stoked about the business opportunity, saying he legitimately enjoys the drink.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Dak repping his new team proudly ... signing his autograph on a custom "Glow" Cowboys jersey.

It's a big deal for Prescott -- especially since everything the KarJenners touch turns to gold.

The quarterback has invested in numerous business ventures since joining the league in 2016 ... from restaurants to cryptocurrency ... as well as sponsorships with Beats By Dre, Nike, Sleep Number and more.

George Floyd's young daughter, her mother and their legal team are preparing to wage legal war against Kanye West ... announcing they'll sue him for a quarter of a billion dollars after his recent comments on Floyd's death.

Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd's only daughter Gianna, announced Tuesday she's hired a team of lawyers to go after Ye, his business partners and his associates for harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress. They're seeking $250 million in damages.

The family's attorneys also say they fired off a cease and desist letter, obtained by TMZ, to Kanye over his comments about Floyd's fatal interaction with Minneapolis police.

The letter reads, in part, "Mr. Floyd’s cause of death is well-settled through evidence presented in courts of law during the criminal and civil trials that were the result of his untimely and horrific death. Nevertheless, you have maliciously made statements that are inaccurate and unfounded, causing damage to Mr. Floyd’s estate and his family."

Kanye's taken a ton of heat for comments he made on an episode of "Drink Champs," claiming George died from a fentanyl overdose and pre-existing conditions, instead of Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck.

The Floyd family says Kanye's statements are "blatantly false" and "malicious" ... and they say Gianna is being "retraumatized" by Kanye's comments, which they say are "creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her."

In the cease and desist, the family's lawyers demand Kanye remove the interview and all of his similar statements on George from the Internet and keep Floyd's name out of his mouth.

Kaley Cuoco says she's gained an added appreciation for flight attendants after playing one on TV, and she actually has a progressive proposal for you frequent fliers -- open your wallets for in-flight service.

We got Kaley at LAX Tuesday and our photog asked if her experience on the HBO Max series "The Flight Attendant" is changing her personal travel routines at all.

Kaley says she sees flight attendants differently now that she knows the ins and outs of their day-to-day lives ... and she's encouraging folks to show them love, especially in the form of tips.

It's fitting we got Kaley at the airport getting ready to board a plane ... she says she didn't really need to bone up on flight attendants to prepare for her role, because she was already flying so much.

Kanye West is a billionaire, yet he's living like a transient ... with no place to call home.

Sources close to Ye tell us as of late, he'll rarely stay in the same place for more than a few days -- living out of fancy hotels and various rental homes. We're also told he spends money like it's nothing, recently fronting a ton of cash for his Yeezy show in Paris and of course -- the alleged purchase of Parler.

What's more ... our Ye sources tell us he's recently made some very rash business decisions as well -- most notably firing Shervin Pishevar from Yeezy and losing other advisors and publicists.

We've spoken to former friends of Kanye, one who told us, "He blows through his money like it's water" ... and there's some serious concern he could fall into financial ruin.

Ye revealed during his "Drink Champs" interview he had recently purchased a $50 million penthouse -- another massive expense -- in addition to his various other real estate transactions.

As we reported, Kanye bought a house next to the home Kim Kardashian now owns in Hidden Hills. The house needs a total redo, but Kanye wanted it so he could be near his children. He bought it nearly a year ago, but there's been little to no work done to remodel it. As far as we know, Kanye never stays at that house.

Johnny Depp's post-trial high is rolling right into Halloween, and that means you should get ready for even more Captain Jack Sparrow costumes than usual while you're out partying.

There's a notable trend going on at the world's largest costume retailer -- honchos at Halloweencostumes.com tell us they're seeing a 90 percent sales spike in purchases related to Johnny's famous Disney character.

The retailer has a couple Jack Sparrow costumes -- a basic one for $85 to $95, and a higher quality one for $245 to $299 -- and we're told folks have already cleared out over 85% of the inventory.

The run on Jack Sparrow costumes is further evidence of Johnny's big comeback since his legal win over Amber Heard in court.

Since the defamation trial, Johnny's been swarmed by fans around the world during his music tour, appeared as MTV's Moonman and signed a lucrative deal to return as the face of Dior's Sauvage men's scent.