Money

It pays to be a 'Real Housewife of New York,' because some of the series icons are getting a quarter million dollars each to party in the Caribbean for a week ... while cameras roll, of course.

Sources close to the cast tell TMZ ... Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Dorinda Medley and Kristen Taekman are each being paid $250,000 to film a new show on location in St. Barts.

The 'RHONY' stars are back in action for Peacock's upcoming show ... "The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy" ... and they arrived on the Caribbean island Tuesday and immediately began filming.

Don't worry, we did the math for ya ... the cast is making about $27,777 a day to party and film in St. Barts.

Bravo's spending $1.5 million on cast salaries alone, but the content should be worth it  ... as 'RHONY' fans know, the housewives went down to St. Barts back in 2012 for season 5, a trip that went down as one of the most memorable in franchise history.

St. Barts is where Luann famously partied with a Johnny Depp doppelgänger ... and she was joined on the trip by Ramona and Sonja.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of this trip. Bravo's clearly banking on more drama than usual.

Unabomber Ted Kaczynski was more than a domestic terrorist mailing package bombs around America -- he was also a staunch proponent of the First Amendment to the Constitution, at least according to the madman himself.

TMZ has obtained a never-before-seen letter he wrote while sitting in federal prison, furious the US government had seized his infamous trove of personal items from his cabin and planned to auction them off to pay restitution to his victims.

In the letter, dated April 3, 2009, the terrorist railed against the system he claimed had wronged him in his multi-year legal battle with the feds over his possessions.

He complained the government had confiscated "every copy of everything I've ever written," and, worse, the court of appeals had already greenlit the auction ... prompting him to reluctantly admit, "I've lost."

But Kaczynski also warned his case should be of "grave concern" to all Americans because it showed the federal courts totally ignored the First Amendment ... in other words, "freedom of expression," as he put it in his letter.

He went on to say something about the court's decision being politically motivated ... but didn't further explain that theory.

The convicted terrorist wrote and sent the letter to a journalist with whom he was contemplating doing an interview -- about his belongings and the First Amendment -- but he ultimately decided against discussing it any further.

Two years later, the auction took place and, when it was all over, Kaczynski's personal property sold for $190,000, which went to his victims and their family members. Among the items sold were his personal journals, his handwritten "manifesto" and his hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, as seen in his iconic police sketch.

As you know ... Kaczynski died by suicide inside his prison cell at FMC Butner in North Carolina last Saturday. TMZ broke the story ... 911 audio revealed first responders were unable to resuscitate him after he hanged himself.

Before his death, Kaczynski was serving 4 life sentences after pleading guilty in 1998 to killing 3 people and maiming 28 others during his nearly 20-year mail bomb campaign.

Priscilla Presley is signaling a family truce ... seemingly showing they all made nice after the end of a bitter dispute over her late daughter Lisa Marie Presley's trust.

Priscilla just posted a photo with her granddaughters ... Riley Keough and twins Harper and Finley. It's unclear when the photo was snapped, though Priscilla says it's from the twins' middle school graduation ... and it's currently grad season.

It's a pretty strong signal from Priscilla ... remember, she was recently battling with Riley over control of Lisa's trust after Elvis Presley's only child died suddenly.

As we reported, Priscilla and Riley ultimately settled their beef ... Riley is the sole trustee and Priscilla walked away with a seven-figure payday, though her request to be buried next to Elvis at Graceland was denied.

Riley filed legal docs this week asking the court to approve the settlement ... which also calls for Lisa's ex-husband Michael Lockwood to be the guardian ad litem regarding these estate matters for Harper and Finley.

Quando Rondo is starting his Father's Day weekend behind bars ... as NBA YoungBoy's Never Broke Again artist was locked up on drug charges, TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

According to booking records in Georgia, Quando was arrested Friday and subsequently charged with 2 counts of conspiracy to violate Georgia's controlled substances law, 1 count of participating in criminal activity affiliated with a street gang, and 1 count of illegal use of a cell phone to facilitate a drug deal.

He was indicted along with 18 other individuals ... who are accused of conducting the drug deals between October 2022 and June 2023.

Prosecutors claim the "ABG" rapper instructed another defendant to negotiate weed prices and then traveled to Macon, GA to pay the supplier.

According to online records, Quando is currently locked up in the Chatham County jail. He clearly sensed the immediate doom because he tweeted out to his family members shortly before going in.

YouTube star Colleen Ballinger, best known for her Internet character Miranda Sings, is not just catching flak over a resurfaced clip from one of her shows ... she's also losing deals.

TMZ has learned at least two companies who pay for ads on Colleen's podcast have pulled their sponsorships, and it may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Here's the deal ... Colleen is under fire for a viral clip from one of her old comedy shows, which features her calling a young fan up to the stage for an embarrassing fart stunt.

In the resurfaced footage, Colleen spreads the young fan's legs as she lies on her back on stage ... and then a fart noise blares over the speakers.

A woman who says she is the girl in the video is now speaking out ... she says she was only a teenager at the time and rips Colleen for embarrassing and traumatizing her.

She's also taken heat for asking a young fan to pretend to give birth, and for other crude comments at her shows toward minors.

Some of Colleen's podcast sponsors have taken notice and taken action ... skincare company OneSkin tells us they severed ties with Colleen, saying ... "We were made aware of this previously and have decided to cease the relationship completely. This behavior is appalling and we do not condone or support it in any form."

Another advertiser, healthcare marketplace Zocdoc, says they will no longer run ads on her podcast.

Michael Jordan's run as owner of the Charlotte Hornets is coming to an end -- the basketball legend has agreed to sell the team to a group that includes several A-list stars.

The Hall of Famer will hand the reins over to businessmen Gabe Plotkin (who already owns part of the Hornets) and Rick Schnall.

The buyer group also includes rapper J. Cole and country singer Eric Church, the team announced Friday.

MJ initially bought a minority stake of the franchise back in 2006 ... and took the position of Managing Member of Basketball Operations.

He became a majority owner in 2010 ... buying the rest of the team from BET founder Robert L. Johnson for $275 million.

The two sides will put pen to paper in the next few days, according to reports.

Plotkin bought part of the Hornets back in 2019 ... a move that, in hindsight, is now considered the first step in phasing Jordan out of ownership.

Plotkin is the founder of Tallwoods Capital ... and Schnall is co-president of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a private equity firm.

Donde esta la carne, Señor Trump???

AKA, "Where's the beef?" ... that's what some of Donald Trump's most fervent -- and possibly hungry -- supporters are reportedly asking after his visit to Miami's famed Versailles Restaurant.

You'll recall, shortly after his court appearance Tuesday to face the 37-count federal indictment, Trump made a stop at the Cuban restaurant, where he was greeted with cheers and "Happy Birthday" wishes. During his fairly triumphant, all things considered, pit stop, Trump yelled out ... "Food for everyone."

However, according to the Miami New Times, Trump left without picking up a single tab for anyone, outside of his campaign team. Now, it's not a "chew and screw" case, he simply never gave anyone time to order ... according to the report.

A Trump spokesperson has a much different view of what went down, or didn't, that day ... telling the NY Post, "At the end of President Trump’s visit he offered to buy food for the group of attendees inside the restaurant, but when President Trump left, the attendees followed him outside and did not place orders themselves."

Translation: You snooze, you lose! Trump was reportedly only inside the restaurant for about 10 minutes.

BTW ... Trump's senior adviser Jason Miller showed off some of the grub the campaign staff got for the road, boasting on social media, "Takeout, Versailles edition!"

Trump himself reportedly ate McDonald's later. Naturally.

All in all, nothing worth a fresh Grand Jury -- just a campaign promise that allegedly came up a little short.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are calling it quits on their deal with Spotify to produce their "Archetypes" podcast after one season.

In a joint statement ... the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (citing their production company, Archewell Audio) and Spotify -- a music/podcast digital service -- said they have "mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together."

The New York Post reported Meghan/Harry failed to generate enough content for Spotify to payout their $20 million contract in full.

But WME, the talent agency that reps Meghan, told the Wall Street Journal ... the Duchess is continuing to crank out more podcasts for her "Archetypes" fans on a different platform. No word though on where and when we can listen to the new episodes.

Kylie Jenner's company is being sued by a model who says she didn't get paid on time for a couple photo shoots ... and now she's gunning for a six-figure payday.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Kylie's company is being sued by a model named Sasha Palma, who claims she was hired for a couple photo shoots for Kylie's cosmetic products.

In the docs, Sasha claims she was first hired for a one-day shoot back in June 2020 at a daily rate of $2,000. She says she was entitled to get paid by early July but says Kylie's company missed the deadline by more than 30 days.

Sasha claims Kylie's company was certainly able to pay her on time, but she says they chose not to ... and she says that means they now owe her penalties totaling $60,000.

In the suit, Sasha claims the same thing happened when she was hired for another one-day photo shoot in August 2020 ... she says she didn't get her $2,000 check until more than 30 days after the deadline and is thus entitled to another $60k.

You guessed it, Sasha's going after Kylie's company for $120,000.

We reached out to Kylie's company ... so far no word back.

Conor McGregor has been accused of raping a woman at Game 4 of the NBA Finals earlier this month ... but the UFC star says the allegations are not true.

According to demand letters, authored by attorney Ariel Mitchell, that were sent to McGregor, the NBA and the Miami Heat this week ... the incident happened just after the Nuggets had won, 108-95, on June 9 at the Kaseya Center in Florida.

McGregor played a big part in the entertainment at the game -- he sat in courtside seats  and even participated in a halftime skit where he punched a Heat mascot multiple times while promoting his Tidl Sport recovery spray.

But, according to the letters, obtained by TMZ Sports, at one point later on during the evening ... he "violently" sexually assaulted a woman inside of a men's bathroom.

In the letters, Mitchell claims that NBA and Heat security helped separate the woman from her friend ... and then forced her into a restroom that McGregor and his security guard were already inside of.

In the letters, Mitchell says "security refused to let [the woman] exit or allow anyone else, including her friend, inside the bathroom." The lawyer then claims McGregor emerged from inside of a handicap stall "and shoved his tongue in the victim's mouth and aggressively kissed her."

According to the letters, the woman was able to get McGregor off of her by telling him she had to urinate ... but then McGregor allegedly forced her to have oral sex with him.

McGregor, 34, is then accused of grabbing the woman and pinning her against the wall ... before attempting to sodomize her.

Mitchell says in the letters the woman was able to elbow McGregor repeatedly -- which gave her a window to escape. However, she allegedly fled in such a hurry, she left her purse -- which Mitchell says McGregor's security guards "held hostage" until she pleaded with them for its return.

According to the letters, the woman finally got away from it all ... and went on to report the assault to local authorities on Sunday morning. Mitchell tells us an officer then encouraged the woman to seek out an attorney.

In the letters, which were sent following the woman's meeting with cops, Mitchell said the woman is seeking settlements with the NBA, the Heat, and McGregor in lieu of litigation.

Reps for McGregor, however, said in a statement Thursday morning the "allegations are false."

"Mr. McGregor will not be intimidated," they added.

The Heat released a statement Thursday afternoon saying the org. is aware of the allegations and is "conducting a full investigation" into the matter. The NBA added in a statement of its own, "We are aware of the allegations and are working with the team to gather more information."

The UFC also addressed the alleged incident ... saying it, too, is aware of the claims and is working on getting more information.

"UFC will allow the legal process to play out before making any additional statements."

Antonio Brown's tenure as owner of the Albany Empire has hit an all-time low -- the ex-NFL star's team was just kicked out of the National Arena League.

The organization announced the decision on Thursday ... saying Brown repeatedly failed to pay his team's monthly assessments, which are used to support the league's operating budget.

In a statement, the NAL explained the Empire made its first assessment payment in April, but it was later challenged. The Super Bowl champ's team then refused to cough up the money in May.

The league says it was in contact with Brown's accountant, who claimed his client did not plan to fulfill his assessment responsibilities, nor would he pay a $1,000 fine he was handed for Conduct Detrimental to the League after recent comments he made.

The NAL held an emergency phone conference with the other team owners to address the fiasco ... and decided to give Brown until noon on Thursday to make up the payments, which he did not.

As a result, the league has severed ties with the Empire.

Brown took over the team in March, and it's been nothing short of a disaster -- he faced accusations of failing to pay players and coaches, getting in heated exchanges with members of the organization and broken promises of suiting up and playing in games.

Brown's father, Eddie, was a star for the team back in the day ... and the ex-Pittsburgh Steeler vowed to be hands-on as a member of the organization.

Fans expressed their displeasure with the team ... with game attendance tanking in the process.

Taylor Swift said she was blindsided when her music was sold over to Scooter Braun ... but a new report says her pops cashed in a huge paycheck on the deal.

For those unaware, TS' catalog was shipped off to Scooter in 2019 when Scott Borchetta, founder of Big Machine Label Group, put his company up for sale ... Scooter's Ithaca Holdings paid $330 mil to take it all.

Sources close to the negotiations tell us Taylor was never involved in any of those calls or directly in the deal at all, but a new report is challenging how much she actually knew about Scooter's move.

The sale spawned a ton of turmoil, as well as multiple "Taylor's Version" re-records of some of her past work ... but according to Music Business Worldwide, Taylor's dad Scott Swift took home $15.1M in the monumental sale.

Despite his cashing in, back in 2019 a rep for Taylor said he didn't have knowledge of the deal before it happened -- intentionally skipping a private NDA-signed phone call about a potential deal -- so that he didn't have to withhold anything from Taylor.

The rep stated, "On June 25, there was a shareholder phone call that Scott Swift did not participate in due to a very strict NDA that bound all shareholders and prohibited any discussion at all without risk of severe penalty. Her dad did not join that call because he did not want to be required to withhold any information from his own daughter. Taylor found out from the news articles when she woke up before seeing any text from Scott Borchetta, and he did not call her in advance."

A source close to the negotiations also added the shareholder meeting was held only 48 hours prior to the announcement of the sale to Scooter and since Scott Borchetta controlled 90% of the stock, the sale was a forgone conclusion.

The outlet confirms he was 1 of the 5 shareholders of BMLG at the time of the sale -- owning about 5% of the company when Borchetta unloaded it to Scooter. Quite the payday, especially considering the pain Taylor claimed the sale caused her.

Taylor's been re-recording all of her old albums ever since her music was sold off ... in order to have a version she'd be able to own.

Scooter also unloaded Taylor's master rights of her first 6 albums to an unknown investment fund for $300M in 2020, and she ripped into Scooter for them not being for sale to her.

Austin Reaves' hot streak continues -- fresh off his breakout season with the Lakers, the former undrafted NBA prospect has inked a signature shoe deal that's reportedly worth millions!!

The 25-year-old signed a multi-year contract with Chinese brand Rigorer that could "reach over seven figures per year," according to Shams Charania ... and it includes getting his very own sneaker, the "AR1."

Reaves talked about the business move on Thursday ... saying, "If you would have told me I'd have had a signature shoe at 18, I'd have looked at you and called you a liar."

"Honestly, I'm blessed to play basketball for a living and I just have to pinch myself sometimes to really understand what's going on."

Reaves blew up this past season ... becoming an important piece on the Lakers roster, averaging 21 points a game in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.

The Arkansas native's shoe deal isn't the only major source of income -- he's expected to be a big target in free agency, with teams prepping to offer him more than $50 million over four years.

A Michael Jordan fan just spent a staggering sum of money to own some of the NBA legend's most iconic memorabilia ... dropping over $1 MILLION to nab His Airness' "Flu-Game" sneakers!!

The shoes -- which Jordan wore during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz while he battled an illness -- were bought at auction Wednesday ... coming in with a final price tag of $1,380,000.

Somehow, it was not the highest price ever for Jordan sneakers -- a pair from the 1998 Finals and a pair from his rookie season previously netted more -- but, according to the man who facilitated the auction, Ken Goldin, they're an unreal purchase nonetheless.

In fact, the auction expert previously told TMZ Sports back in April that he believed they were simply "the most valuable sneakers of all time."

Jordan scored 38 points while wearing the Jordan 12s in the pivotal game in Salt Lake City. Despite battling an ailment that left him, at times, completely exhausted on the court, he still was the key reason the Bulls won the game. Chicago would later go on to lock up the NBA title on the heels of the victory.

Following the game, Jordan signed the kicks and then handed them over to Utah Jazz ball boy Preston Truman ... who had helped MJ with postgame snacks in years prior.

Truman then held onto them for over a decade, before he sold them at auction back in 2013. They hadn't been seen again ... until Goldin's auction this year.

No word on who Wednesday's buyer was ... but something tells us they're very rich -- and, now, very happy.

Dr. Paul Nassif just unloaded his elaborate Bel-Air mansion for a pretty penny after years of construction and incredible design work on the pad.

According to property records, the top doc from "Botched" sold his 3-story Bel-Air home Wednesday, closing at auction for $20.4M. After auction fees, we're told Paul was left with $18.4M.

The 3-story pad was originally listed for $32M back in 2021, but since has gone through a ton of price cuts and real estate agents. Paul never lived in the home ... it was strictly a real estate and design project.

As for the home, it's 7-bedroom, 14-bath, and spans over 1.3 acres.

The owner will be hit with incredible features from the second they step on the property. There's a private motor court, stone cladding and water features to set the scene.

In addition to elaborate bedrooms -- the home comes with dual gourmet kitchens, a spacious pantry, an indoor-outdoor gym with a steam room and sauna, lounge and bar, 12-seat theater and a temperature-controlled wine room.

There's also an infinity-edged pool with a Baja shelf and Jacuzzi that cascades to a separate pool on the level below. All three stories have outdoor entertaining space ... and there's garage space to fit up to 5 cars. Don't forget the spectacular city-to-ocean views.

Bill Cosby is being sued for a slew of alleged sexual assaults back in the day ... and his accusers include Janice Dickinson and Lili Bernard.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Janice and Lili are among the nine women accusing Cosby of a series of sexual assaults and batteries from 1979 to 1992 in Nevada.

The women claim some of the alleged incidents took place in Cosby's suite in the same Las Vegas hotel.

Lili, who acted in "The Cosby Show," claims Cosby arranged for her to travel from New York to Nevada in 1990 under the pretense of arranging a meeting with Hollywood producers.

When Lili got to Las Vegas, she claims Cosby told her the producers could not attend the meeting and instead invited her to his hotel suite for a mentoring session ... where she says he encouraged her to quickly drink a beverage that made her feel dizzy, disoriented and giddy.

Lili claims the effects of the drink caused her to fall in Cosby's suite and become unconscious ... and when she woke up she claims she was lying naked next to a nude Cosby, who raped her despite her telling him she didn't want to have sex and crying for help.

In the suit, Janice claims Cosby invited her to Lake Tahoe in 1982 under the pretense of discussing a potential role on his TV show. She says they went to dinner, where she complained of menstrual cramps and Cosby in turn gave her a pill he said would help her cramps.

The former model claims she felt woozy, disoriented and dizzy after ingesting the pill ... and she says Cosby took her to his suite and raped her. She says she told him to stop and tried to fight him off to no avail.

Both Lili and Janice say Cosby engaged in sexual acts with them without their consent and against their will, and they say they did not have the mental or physical capacity to consent to or resist any of the sexual acts.

The women say they've suffered emotional distress, embarrassment, mental anguish and humiliation ... and they are going after Cosby for damages.

Cosby's rep, Andrew Wyatt, gave us this statement ... "It's interesting that these 'Look Back Windows' are formulating only in those states (New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles and Nevada) where many of Mr. Cosby’s alleged accusers reside. It makes ALL Americans ask the question, 'Who’s funding these alleged accusers and who’s funding these lawmakers?' Mr. Cosby is a Citizen of these United States but these judges and lawmakers are consistently allowing these civil suits to flood their dockets—knowing that these women are not fighting for victims—but for their addiction to massive amounts of media attention and greed."