Money

Here's Katy Perry, Austin Butler and Sia making fashion statements worthy of a Met Gala appearance ... only they're not in New York, they're at a Bev Hills mansion party.

The guest list for a Sunday dinner party at investor Michael Kives' $14 million Bev Hills estate rivaled Anna Wintour's annual fundraiser ... with Katy, Austin and Sia being just the tip of the Hollywood icon iceberg. The party was to celebrate the start of Milken Conference, which is a big deal in the finance world.

Oprah and a very colorfully-dressed Gayle King were in the house ... breaking bread with Kris Jenner, Jimmy Kimmel and Chris Pine.

Austin had supermodel Kaia Gerber on his arm, and they were a bunch of other celeb couples ... we're talking Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Heather Milligan, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, plus Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld.

Michael's party, celebrating his investment firm, also welcomed L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez ... plus Bill Maher, Nicholas Braun and Matt Bellamy.

Most of the celebs walked out with what appeared to be SKIMS gift bags ... which makes sense, because Kris Jenner helped host the party.

Joakim Noah is doing his part to give back to Chicago -- the former NBA player is launching a basketball league to unify young men amid the city's violence epidemic.

The 13-year NBA vet revealed his plans in an interview with Shams Charania ... where he explained his decision to join forces with 28 violence prevention groups to launch "One City Basketball League."

Noah -- who played 9 seasons with the Bulls -- said the league aims to bring young men aged 16-25 living in the west and south sides of Chicago together to compete in a tournament.

"Chicago is a place that gave me everything I had, playing for the Chicago Bulls," Noah said. "So I always wanted to do work in the city. The city is divided in a lot of ways."

"One of the ways to unify the city is through hoop. Some of my best friends, to this day, are from playing basketball. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to unify the city."

Noah believes the tournament will entice kids to participate, but feels the real prize is the financial incentives for players, off-court programs, and job opportunities.

38-year-old Noah -- who announced his retirement from the NBA in 2021 -- said former United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is helping launch the league.

Ryan Reynolds has some competition in his quest to buy the Ottawa Senators ... and it's none other than rap legend Snoop Dogg!!

According to the Athletic, the Dogg Father has joined the group headed by Neko Sparks in hopes of becoming the next big celebrity sports team owner.

Sparks, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, first became known as a bidder for the team back in January 2023. Since then, he has rounded up a dozen people to join his efforts to not only buy the team ... but make history as the first black owner in the NHL. The group also reportedly has Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a member.

In case you didn't know, Snoop is a massive fan of hockey. In 2018, he teamed up with the NHL to release a weekly video series called "Hockey 101 with Snoop Dogg."

On top of that ... in 2020, he called a whole period of NHL action for the L.A. Kings during the team’s matchup with the Colorado Avalanche. If you want to dig even further, in his famous "Gin and Juice” music video ... Snoop is rocking a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey.

While adding Dogg to his ownership group certainly bolsters its cause, it will still be a battle for Sparks' group to win the Senators. Reynolds and real estate mogul Christopher Bratty are rumored to be preparing a $1 billion dollar bid to buy the team. They would also build a new stadium for the org., although it's unknown if Sparks and his group would do the same.

Reynolds is no stranger to owning a team. Back in November 2020 ... Reynolds and actor Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham FC for $2.5 million dollars. Back on April 22nd, the team earned promotion to the English Football League after falling out 15 years ago.

Daz Dillinger is fully denying Suge Knight's allegation Dr. Dre cheated Tha Dogg Pound producer straight outta his rightful credit for Snoop's "Doggystyle" -- and, it's a very aggressive denial, at that!

Daz posted a video calling Dre the "best producer in the world," and suggested Suge was still salty over Snoop's purchase of his once beloved Death Row Records.

Suge recently spoke to TMZ Hip Hop and claimed Dre approached Daz right before "Doggystyle" was released, and convinced him to sign over his writing/producing rights ... so, the album would be better promoted with Dre's celebrity attached.

Daz says he never signed any contract and also accused veteran music industry exec Alan Grunblatt of shady business. Alan was president of eOne Entertainment when the company acquired Death Row ahead of Snoop's buy-in and Daz claims they were all fumbling the bag.

Tha Dogg Pound legend swore on "the streets" Suge was lying and also called for him to get beat up ... presumably by a fellow inmate in the CA state prison where he's serving out a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter.

Ralph Yarl, the teen who was shot when he accidentally rang the wrong doorbell, now has a personal invite from Alicia Keys ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... Alicia has a concert scheduled in Kansas this July, and Lee Merritt, attorney for the Yarl family, tells us the singer asked Ralph to come out to the show and meet her.

As if that wasn't big enough, we're told Roc Nation also reached out to him ... letting Ralph and co. know the company wants to help out too, in any way possible.

Ralph's fam has been feeling the love from folks all over the country, and they've set up a trust fund for all the donations. We're told writer and social justice advocate Shaun King helped the Yarl family find someone to map out the financial assistance.

As we reported, Ralph's GoFundMe picked up serious steam -- it's already passed $3.4 million raised -- and while there's no set plan for the money yet, the trust ensures it will be there for Ralph when he needs it.

BTW, Ralph's mom Cleo also got emotional support from Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones ... who's also repped by Merritt. We're told she encouraged Cleo to lean on prayer, and reminded her victims, like her son, hold the power.

Meanwhile, 84-year-old Andrew Lester -- who shot Ralph 2 times -- was charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action.

Mario just joined an exclusive club that started forming in 2020, when the pandemic started -- one that includes 10 figures at the box office ... which is a rare feat in this day and age.

Indeed ... the "Super Mario Bros. Movie" crossed a major milestone over the weekend -- having now racked up over a billion dollars in ticket sales globally ... this after only 3 weeks and change since its release date earlier this month.

The official numbers, as of Sunday, are $490 million in North America ... and $532 million internationally. So, all in all -- Mario and co. are at about $1.02 billion. In terms of the other four flicks that have reached this coveted threshold in pandemic times ... it's at the bottom.

There are only 5 films that have hit the billion-dollar mark since the spring of 2020 -- including 'Mario Bros.,' "Jurassic World: Dominion," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and "Avatar: The Way of Water" ... which is at the top, at about $2.3B

'Mario' is far and away the most successful movie of the year at this point ... and it serves as yet another piece of evidence about the recipe to big-time success post-pandemic.

While AI is sparking intellectual property debates, funnyman Bill Bellamy's making it clear ... he's not down with the tech using his jokes -- and the fact is, he's still feeling some kinda way about a different financial loss.

We linked with Bill out in NYC and tackled the ongoing discussion about artificial intelligence ... and he's unapologetically Team Human.

Bill not only thinks AI would have a hard time matching his joke-writing wit, he also believes deceased superstars -- like Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. -- would also frown upon their voices being remixed without legal approval.

We also talked to Bill about a golden opportunity he admits missing out on back in the '90s -- namely, not trademarking the "booty call" catchphrase he coined as a young comic on Def Comedy Jam.

The phrase has since been placed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and Hollywood also took advantage ... tapping Jamie Foxx and Vivica A. Fox for the 1997 rom-com.

Speaking of Jamie, Bill tells us his inner circle relayed positive news about the Academy Award winner's condition after he suffered a medical emergency in Atlanta.

Brian Austin Green is officially -- or we should say finally -- saying goodbye to a sentimental tattoo ... one he got in honor of Vanessa Marcil before their 2003 breakup.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Brian finally went through with the removal about 15 years after first trying to scrap it. We're told he tried deleting it when he and Vanessa split, but never got it fully wiped because the tattoo removal place shut down.

Brian got the ink after she gave birth to their son Kassius back in 2002 -- the piece was the kiddo's name with Vanessa's name shaded inside it.

Y'know what they say about name tats, though ... the young couple called it quits the next year.

The tattoo's remained faint on his arm since his past removal sessions, but he finally went in this month to finish the job. As for honoring Kass ... Brian still has another tattoo of his baby photo on his bicep. Always good to have a backup!

FYI, Brian and Vanessa went through a lengthy custody battle over Kass ... and he also sued her, claiming she owed him roughly $200K in unpaid loans, but it was dismissed due to the statute of limitations.

Jorge Masvidal, from one bad motherf***** to the next, is coming to the defense of one-time opponent Nate Diaz, telling TMZ Sports the charges against the UFC legend are crap ... 'cause fighters need to be able to defend themselves too!

Gamebred recently joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where they chopped it up about everything from his friendship with Donald Trump, whether he'd ever run for political office, his very own fight promotion, Gamebred Promotions, and the Diaz incident in New Orleans.

"There's nothing wrong [with defending yourself]," Masvidal said.

Of course, defending himself is exactly what Diaz says he was doing. Still, authorities opted to charge him with second-degree assault. Nate flew to NOLA on Thursday, where he turned himself in, before bonding out and taking a PJ back to Stockton. Diaz is adamant he was not the aggressor and simply was acting in self-defense.

"When it's you against somebody you have no idea if he's got a knife in his pocket, if he's gonna f******* pepper spray you then kick you in the nuts," Jorge explained, adding ... "Obviously this guy's not in the right mind if he's attacking a pro fighter. I just don't like it that people think because we're pro fighters that we're not able to defend ourselves."

"No, we have to defend ourselves. It's a cold world out there."

FYI, Jorge beat Nate for the BMF belt at UFC 244 in November 2019.

We also talked to Gamebred about politics ... with 80-year-old President Joe Biden recently announcing he'll run for reelection in 2024. Jorge has a relationship with Trump and believes the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction under the current POTUS.

"We the people say that please, you're not doing a service for us, you're doing a disservice. You're destroying this country. I don't care about your skin color, your ethnicity, your freakin' religious views. Where we were out 2 to 3 years ago was better for everybody."

Masvidal has gotten more involved in politics, and while he may not be a traditional candidate (stiff, phony, etc.), we asked Gamebred if he had any interest in running for office in the future.

"If you don't like the constitution and you're coming with all this crazy s*** now to try and destroy this country, I can't f*** you, man. But me running personally? No. But I'll def endorse those who I think are actually coming to get it and being a patriot."

There's much more ... while Masvidal says he still feels very comfortable with his decision to lay down his gloves after UFC 287, he's in no way leaving the fight game.

In fact, Jorge has big plans for Gamebred Promotions ... coming off an awesome Gamebred Boxing card that featured the legendary Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anthony Pettis. Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens also boxed ... along with Vitor Belfort defeating "Jacare" Souza.

Stacked.

And, Street Jesus says he's in the process of making even bigger moves, putting together massive events.

As for whether he'd fight under his own banner, the answer is ... maybe.

"I would definitely like to get a boxing match in there, I'm not ruling that out, but as of right now I'm just focusing on promoting."

JoJo isn't as concerned as the rest of the music industry when it comes to AI-generated tracks, saying folks should learn how to use the technology as an advantage ... cuz it's not going anywhere.

We caught up with the singer in NYC Wednesday where she spilled her thoughts on the uptick of robots in music ... which has taken the internet by storm as of late.

JoJo says the concept is actually pretty interesting, and could have some benefits to be used in the studio for harmonies and backgrounds. As far as JoJo is concerned, there's no stopping AI tunes, so people should figure out how to use 'em.

Of course, not all artists see it like JoJo. Drake's label ripped the idea after multiple AI-generated Drizzy tunes began trending. Before that, Universal Music Group had to remove an AI song featuring Drake and The Weeknd.

Other artists like Khalid agree the technology is inevitable, but unlike JoJo, he's not a fan.

Elon Musk has taken nothing but heat for a while, but he had an ally Friday night -- one Bill Maher.

Elon appeared one-on-one with the 'Real Time' host, and Bill was more than complimentary. He essentially said, like him or not, Elon Musk is changing the world in profound ways.

As Bill says, the most transformative things in society have come from technology ... the printing press, the light bulb, the phone, the internet, flying, and on and on.

BM gave Elon mad props for his work with reusable rockets, electric cars, the Neuralink, just to mention a few.

Elon was actually funny in the interview, getting laughs and applause from the audience.

As for Twitter, Musk explained he bought the platform because it was censoring too much. As he said, it's easy to allow speech you agree with -- the point of free speech is to allow people to make remarks you may find abhorrent ... presumably still within limits.

They get into cancel culture, politics, the works.

Suge Knight says his upcoming TV series will portray his version of the truth about how some of Death Row's biggest records were made ... allegedly without Dr. Dre's involvement.

Suge tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Daz Dillinger's latest interview -- where he claimed he got $2.5 mil out of Suge -- is just Daz "running his mouth." However, he has his own story to tell about Daz, alleging Dre convinced Tha Dogg Pound producer to sign over rights to Snoop Dogg's classic "Doggystyle" album.

As everyone knows, Dre is credited with producing that iconic project, but Suge claims it was really Daz who ghost-produced it.

Speaking from a CA state penitentiary, Suge told us the record distributor wanted Dre's name on Snoop's debut album for visibility purposes. That record came after Dre's legendary "The Chronic," so having him produce would be a huge boost for "Doggystyle."

Suge claims he advised Daz to reject Dre's proposed buyout ... but Daz went through with it anyway. We reached out to Daz for his side, but haven't heard back.

Suge says his version of the "Doggystyle" backstory is what viewers will see in the upcoming BLK Prime TV series chronicling his life. He also assured Daz his DGPC twin Kurupt will get some shine for being a ferocious MC in the violent Death Row era.

Suge, who's doing 28 years for voluntary manslaughter, takes umbrage with how another blockbuster record in Dre's catalog, "California Love," was depicted in 2015's "Straight Outta Compton."

The Oscar-winning film shows Dre and Tupac Shakur organically creating the 1996 hit collab in-studio, but Suge alleges he actually orchestrated the song's creation ... because Pac and Dre were beefing at the time.

He credits DJ Quik for thinking up the song's iconic chorus when at the infamous 1995 Source Awards in NYC, and he later recruited the late Roger Troutman to sing the phrase on his voicebox.

Suge cosigned on veteran rapper J-Flexx's claims he penned Dre's verses for the classic tracks "Keep Their Heads Ringin'," "Natural Born Killaz" and, of course, "California Love."

Nyjah Huston isn't going to let his recent injury scare him into early retirement -- the skateboarding superstar tells TMZ Sports he plans to go all-out until he literally can't anymore ... just like Tony Hawk!!

The 28-year-old busted his ACL, partially tore his meniscus and fractured his tibia off a bad skating accident last year ... which kept him on the sidelines for months.

We spoke with Nyjah -- who's inching back to full recovery -- about how he handled the first major injury of his career ... and he said he couldn't wait to get back on his board again.

"Skateboarding is so much more to me than a job, or than making money, or making a living for myself. It really is my life and is something I plan on doing until I physically can't anymore."

"I wanna do everything I can to make sure I can make that happen and make sure I'm gonna be like, 50, 60 years old still grinding rails out there."

Of course, Hawk is known for crushing it even at 54 years old ... and Nyjah says that's exactly how he's trying to be in a couple decades.

Kanye West says he never screwed his ex-business manager out of a payday in a new countersuit ... firing back with claims their arrangement came about when he was stressed out and in the middle of his divorce.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained docs filed by Kanye and his Yeezy brand ... where he claims the deal he struck with Thomas St. John isn't enforceable because he signed it without help from a lawyer when he was "sleep-deprived, stressed, anxious, and under duress."

According to the lawsuit, Ye says he met St. John around March 2022 -- and they sketched out a deal that would place him on a $300k monthly retainer.

Kanye admits the two met during one of his many social media meltdowns -- and St. John swooped in as a respected biz manager who could steer the ship back on course.

Although Ye admits to signing a document with St. John in May 2022 ... he claims he did so without the presence and counsel of his lawyers, and as his high-profile divorce with Kim Kardashian was taking a serious toll.

Ye also says the increased volume of paparazzi encounters amid the divorce was causing sleep deprivation, stress and anxiousness.

Ye is also complaining about a clause in the "barebones" agreement that prevented St. John from being terminated for at least the first 18 months ... essentially guaranteeing his bank account stayed stacked with Ye's funds.

Kevin Durant is gonna "do it" for the rest of his life -- the NBA superstar just signed a contract with Nike that will keep him with the shoe giant until he takes his last breath.

The two sides announced the massive news on Friday ... saying they're both thrilled to be attached at the hip for decades to come.

"When I first signed with Nike, I couldn’t have dreamed of how far we’d go in this partnership," KD said, via Boardroom.

"We’ve done amazing work creatively and philanthropically. We’ve traveled the world together and built a business that will now last forever. I’m excited for the future and honored to be in rare company with this deal."

The 34-year-old NBA champion first teamed up with the Swoosh as a rookie in 2007 ... and has released 15 signature shoes over the course of his career.

KD's contract is super rare, but not unheard of -- the only other athletes to get the honor are Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Not only will the brand continue to release KD shoes and merch, but it will also continue to help with his foundation and initiatives to expand the game of basketball to communities throughout the world.

Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News, and now another conservative news outlet, Newsmax, wants him to be more than just the face of the network, and it's putting on a full-court press to land him.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the news channel is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal for Tucker to come on board -- including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show.

That would be a pretty enticing deal point ... in addition to having his own primetime show, Tucker would have a say over what shows lead into and out of his show, which can be key in achieving bigger TV ratings.

While our sources stress Newsmax hasn't formally offered Tucker a job -- he can't have formal discussions due to his current Fox News contract -- we're told the network execs have made it clear to people around him, they would basically give him a big say in rebranding their channel.

Newsmax has some competition for Tucker ... as we first reported, NewsNation is showing early interest as well.

Our sources acknowledge it's too early to know for sure where Tucker will pop up next, and it might not even be at a TV network ... but we're told whatever he does, it's going to be big, disruptive, and will create a seismic shift in the conservative media landscape.