Money

Ludacris believes the children are our future, and he's doing his part to help them lead the way ... by making a huge donation toward the renovation of a children's theater.

Back in July, Luda performed at the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati and pledged $50,000 to the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati to help support its $48 million restoration campaign for the Emery Theater building.

Luda's lawyer, Darrell D. Miller, has ties to both the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and Emery Theater as a board member -- so, the "Fast & The Furious" star showed excellent southern hospitality by joining his cause.

Ludacris told Cincy's Local 12, "I'm drawn to the Children's Theatre's project in Cincinnati because of the plans to develop new works that hit on the topics that matter to kids today.”

He added, “The Emery project signals an incredible opportunity for more children to access the arts and see themselves in what happens on stage. As a father of four daughters and a philanthropist who's constantly investing in the next generation, I'm honored to be a part of this."

The theater is currently sitting at $30M of its $48M goal.

Music philanthropy definitely pulls at Luda's heartstrings.

"Kids, I'm sorry ... you gotta go to public school now."

Jorge Masvidal was down bad after Dustin Poirier got knocked out at UFC 291 ... not only because he hated seeing his friend lose, but he also kissed a whopping $100k goodbye after betting on the fight.

The retired UFC star revealed his woeful wager shortly after his American Top Team teammate lost to Justin Gaethje via a vicious leg kick during Saturday's BMF belt matchup ... admitting he was so confident "Diamond" would come out on top, he was willing to risk a hefty chunk of change.

FYI -- Poirier was a -150 favorite to beat Gaethje, which means Jorge would have pocketed an extra $66k had it gone the other way.

Gamebred told TNT Sports he "probably shouldn't" be making bets of that magnitude ... and joked his three children will suffer from the financial blow.

Of course, Jorge will be okay -- he previously said in an interview he once made $5 million off one fight alone ... and he has his own Gamebred Boxing and Bareknuckle promotions that are taking off in his retirement.

As for the fight, Jorge felt Dustin had the upper hand in the first round ... but Gaethje had the "perfect kick" in the second that knocked him out.

"So hats off to Justin, man," the former BMF title holder said. "Great fight, great competitor always."

Disney has another dud on their hands -- this time, it's "The Haunted Mansion" ... which paled in comparison to last week's big hits, including "Barbie" -- who reigns supreme again.

The Mouse House's latest offering -- featuring a star-studded cast, including the likes of Lakeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish and others -- got off to a bad start this weekend ... having only generated $24.6 million in North America markets.

Overseas, it did even worse -- raking in only $9.1 mil, meaning worldwide ... it's got about $33 million to its name so far. The problem, the film's budget was $150 mil -- plus tens of millions that Disney reported spent to market the movie. So, yeah ... way down in the red.

"Haunted Mansion's" poor performance at the box office is emblematic of how its premiere felt ... very empty/soulless. Granted that was SAG strike related, but still -- they run parallel.

It ain't the only Disney flick of late to disappoint. The new 'Indiana Jones' didn't do so hot either -- although, their other films have done somewhat decently big picture this year. It's a mixed bag ... but it's certainly nowhere near where Bog Iger would like to see the numbers.

Elsewhere in movie land ... "Barbie" cleaned up for the 2nd week in a row. Margot Robbie and co. still had momentum from just 7 days ago, with a massive $93 million haul domestically. Mind you, that's in addition to the $162 mil from the opening weekend. And don't get us started on the international numbers ... at this point. "Barbie" has made over $750M.

"Oppenheimer," too, is riding a second wave of success. It clawed an extra $46.6 million from ticket holders this weekend ... bringing its final domestic tally to $174 million. Not half bad!

Lots of actors who are on strike are getting work ... courtesy of Beverly Hills plastic surgeons!

Business is booming ... so says Dr. Ben Talei of the Beverly Hills Center for Plastic Surgery. He told Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" he's working 7 days a week, because actors are using the downtime to go under the knife and recover without being noticed or missing work.

Dr. Talei says it's the A and B-listers who are swarming his office ... mostly because they can afford it. He's been doing work on some of his favorite sports stars and actors, and there's an interesting story about a famous Scientologist who went under his knife.

And here's the most fascinating part ... he says some actors made contingency plans -- if it seemed the strike wouldn't last long, they'd get minor, filler work, but if it was prolonged, they get the full monty.

If you want to drive the LaFerrari to Jamba Juice just like Travis Scott, here's your chance ... the super rare Ferrari that the rapper once owned is now up for sale!!

And, get this, TMZ Sports has learned Floyd Mayweather's car guy is actually the one who helped it hit the open market.

Here's the deal ... Scott purchased the 2014 LaFerrari back in 2019 ... but sold it a few years later when he wanted an Aperta instead.

It eventually landed in the lap of Obi Okeke -- aka Dr. Bugatti ... the man who helps Mayweather with his massive car collection.

Okeke realized the LaFerrari -- a 1 of 499 -- had crazy value, given its rarity AND the fact that it was owned by the Utopia musician ... so he sold it to a Ferrari dealership in Silicon Valley for a pretty penny.

Now, the guys at the dealership have listed the whip -- and are expecting it to net them around $4 MILLION.

It's a hefty price tag ... but certainly worth it -- after all, the car's got a V12 engine that helps it scoot from 0 to 124 MPH in under 6.9 seconds!

Veteran music exec L.A. Reid won't let his numerous accolades cloud the fact he royally screwed the pooch when it comes to Lady Gaga ... by dropping her from the label before she had a chance to just dance!!!

Ya gotta go back to circa 2006 ... L.A. was CEO and Chairman of Def Jam Records, and after the prodding of A&R exec Joshua Sarubin, Gaga was immediately signed and set up for superstardom. Sike!!!

The music industry can be extremely fickle, which Gaga soon found out, as Def Jam dropped the future megastar just 3 months later ... a move L.A. didn't seem to regret until much later.

He came clean to Billy Mann on an upcoming episode of the "Yeah, I F*cked That Up" podcast, saying he hated to disappoint Joshua but didn't think much of the separation ... until he saw Gaga's DIAMOND-SELLING debut single hit the Canadian charts, of all places.

He says he tried to ignore her growing buzz at first, but couldn't deny the fail ... which still haunts him until this day!!!

Going from a member of The Deele with Babyface to overseeing the careers of Outkast, TLC, Goodie Mob and several other legends ... L.A.'s had way more success than failure, but Gaga isn't the only bad pop prediction on his resumé.

Viola Davis might be setting a tone for A-listers -- because, despite recently receiving an independent film waiver, she's stopping down on her new movie ... all to support the strike.

The actress told Deadline Saturday that she was bowing out of her Amazon flick, "G20," for now -- saying ... "I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike."

She adds, "I appreciate that the producers on the project agree with this decision. JuVee Productions and I stand in solidarity with actors, SAG/AFTRA and the WGA."

It's a bold move, and speaks volumes on where Viola's priorities are. Like we said, just the other day ... the producers behind "G20" got the green light to go ahead and continue with production -- even though Amazon is obviously a major studio. The fact an independent production company, MRC, is also behind it appears to be the reason it got a pass.

In any case, it would seem moving forward while thousands of other actors are on the picket lines wasn't sitting well with her ... which is interesting, because a lot of other big stars are also attached to independent flicks right now that got SAG waivers as well.

Those names include ... Anne Hathaway, Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Matthew McConaughey, Mark Wahlberg, Sigourney Weaver, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Kingsley, Dave Bautista, Ice Cube, Dakota Fanning, John Malkovich, Sean Bean, Rebel Wilson ... to name a few.

Again, them being attached to indie films -- with no direct ties to AMPTP -- is why they can keep trucking (especially overseas) ... but some have raised an eyebrow regardless -- viewing their continued work as a betrayal. That's, perhaps, unfair, but it's a real POV out there.

Now that Viola is putting her foot down ... it may be a signal for other mega stars to do the same -- even though they can technically proceed through the SAG indie loophole.

The principle of the matter could be why Brad Pitt reportedly stood down on filming as well. There was word that his F1 movie, "Apex," was continuing to film in Hungary last week -- with some claiming BP himself even got behind the wheel at one point for some scenes.

Another unlikely drop-in for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour -- this time it's Mark Zuckerberg who paid a visit to her big show, and it looks like he's on dad duty in the process ... x3.

The Facebook founder hit up Taylor's concert Friday in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium -- where he, his wife and his three daughters (plus a pal, it seems) had their own private box overlooking the stage below. Indeed, they're fantastic seats ... and he can afford it.

Anyway, as excited as the kids surely were ... it seems Mark himself was stoked too, evidenced in the fact that he kinda bedazzled himself for the occasion, literally.

Take a look ... the guy had sparkles and rhinestone-like jewelry plastered on his face, and yes -- he was also rocking one of those multi-bead friendship bracelets that Swifties wear.

It seems Mark was having a little meme-ish fun as well. He posted a filtered shot of himself decked out in the T-Swift-inspired gear and checking his phone -- with the caption, "Checking 13 emails on the way to the concert." Yeah, he was in the spirit of things.

The house Lisa Marie Presley lived in until the day she died is up for sale ... TMZ has learned.

Lisa Marie moved into the Calabasas house in 2020 ... she rented but had an option to purchase it, which she planned to do.

The house is listed for $4,679,000. Her realtor and friend, Robb Friedman, significantly renovated the property after she died back in January.

The house is a skosh under 7,500 square feet with 6 bedrooms and 7 baths, and has all the bells and whistles, including a home theatre, a wine cellar, the obligatory California pool and great canyon views.

We're told when Lisa Marie first saw the house, she fell in love with it, as did her twins and ex-husband Danny Keough, who lived with them. In fact, after Lisa Marie rented it, she loved it so much she cajoled the landlord into giving her an option to buy it, which she jumped at.

TMZ broke the story ... Lisa Marie was found unresponsive at her home January 12. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died. Lisa Marie was 54.

Kevin Costner's estranged wife Christine Baumgartner has moving trucks backed up to the front door ... bolting from their home with a few days to spare before her court-ordered move-out day.

Multiple vehicles were spotted arriving at the Costner ocean-front estate in Carpinteria, CA Friday ... and we're told another U-Haul was seen leaving the property earlier in the morning, too.

As you know, Christine leaving Kevin's property was part of the prenup they both agreed to when the got married back in 2004 ... she must be out of the home by the end of this month.

While Christine is in the middle of her move, Kevin is at one of his other homes in Aspen ... and he's got their 3 children with him for a little summer vacation.

The divorce means the kids get double vacays -- Christine already took them to Hawaii a week ago, where they stayed in a swanky resort while she spent time with a guy who's been a longtime friend to Kevin and Christine.

Now, it's back to reality for Christine.

She's got a moving crew to handle the heavy lifting, but she's there keeping a close eye on the process. As we reported, Kevin filed a detailed list of what she can and can't take.

Christine filed for divorce in May, and the split has been extremely nasty ... with early fights over child support and the prenup, plus allegations by Kevin she took large sums of money and other assets behind his back.

Rachel Leviss' big return to "Vanderpump Rules" has been mostly shrouded in mystery ... but surely Lisa Vanderpump would help give some answers, right? Think again.

We got Lisa on the TMZ Celebrity Tour in WeHo Thursday ... and as we chatted at a red light about her recent Emmy nominations, we asked her the million-dollar question -- is RL comin' back or not??

Of course, Lisa's keeping a tight lip on the whole situation ... playfully making her big escape thanks to a perfectly-timed green light.

Jokes aside, the 'VPR' matriarch has gotta know something about Rachel's return, but she ain't spilling the tea any time soon. TMZ broke the story, Rachel's actually bound by her contract with Bravo to join the cast for season 11, but she's still in negotiations -- possibly for a higher rate.

Remember, Rachel left her mental health facility earlier this month after checking herself in back in April ... and has been MIA while production picked back up for 'VPR.' Nothing's been said about how she was doing while away -- even Tom Sandoval wouldn't blab.

If we were betting, it seems increasingly unlikely Rachel will return to the show ... they're halfway through shooting Season 11, and it's gonna be hard to integrate her into the storylines.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez got their own not-so-little 'Love Boat' floating off the coast of Italy, and none other than Oprah Winfrey is up on the lido deck with 'em!!!

The billionaires -- Jeff and O -- were shoulder to shoulder at the lunch table aboard the Koru ... his superyacht that's been cruising along the French and Italian Rivieras this summer. Sanchezos hosted Oprah and Gayle King Thursday for what looks like a fabulous luncheon near Capri.

As for what they were chatting about -- super-rich stuff, no doubt -- but it wasn't all biz, not for the hosts, anyway ... 'cause Mommy and Daddy couldn't keep their hands off each other.

After Oprah and Gayle boarded a tender to head back to shore (or to their own fabulous yacht), Lauren and Jeff were hugging and kissing before slipping into something more comfortable ... their swimwear.

Get used to this kinda scene aboard the SS Sanchezos ... we hear Oprah's just the start of a celeb parade aboard Jeff's ship. They'll be celebrating all summer with several groups of their famous friends coming aboard.

The 2023 Emmy Awards are officially on hold as the actors' and writers' strikes continue to freeze everything in Hollywood.

The Television Academy had to pump the breaks on its September 18 ceremony date, according to the New York Times -- and it could be pushed as far out as January ... a move the outlet's source said was "most likely."

The final date is reportedly going to be hammered out in the next few weeks ... and Fox, which is broadcasting the Emmys, was looking at postponing the show last month if the writers stayed on strike through July.

As you know, the writers aren't alone anymore on the picket lines -- WGA put pens down in early May, and SAG-AFTRA joined the cause on July 14 after its negotiations stalled with the studios.

Drake's Thug Life is officially complete -- the megastar rapper has emerged as the buyer of Tupac Shakur's $1 million crown ring, which now ranks as a historic moment at a Sotheby's auction!!!

On Friday, Drake showed off his latest prized possession via IG ... and promoted Travis Scott's album "Utopia" which dropped at midnight, as he's featured on the song "Meltdown" where he reignites his beef with Pusha T!!!

Earlier in the week, Sotheby's announced they had sold the Tupac ring in New York City for $1,016,000 ... blasting through the initial estimates of $200k-$300k and making it the “most valuable hip-hop artifact ever sold at auction.” The ring's the only piece purchased for over $1 million.

The glitzy 14k ring sports an amalgam of gold, ruby and diamond jewels and will make a nice addition to Drake's jewelry collection. BTW, on "Meltdown" he raps about permanently altering chains he bought from Pharrell!!!

Tupac was Drake's #1 artist for his Spotify streams last year, so his flex is true to his fandom.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson just made UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo's dream come true -- surprising the welterweight at the gym in an incredibly emotional video.

Remember, Gorimbo said he only had 7 bucks in his account before UFC Fight Night in Vegas last month ... a similar story to The Rock, who was also scrambling for cash at the beginning of his career.

The movie superstar got wind of Gorimbo's story and reached out to him on social media at the time ... saying he was so moved by his journey, he wanted to meet in person.

That day finally came on Thursday ... with the two linking up for the very first time -- and Gorimbo could barely keep it together as he saw his hero in the flesh.

Gorimbo -- who was doing a staged interview -- turned around, bolted up and hugged Johnson ... choking up as he realized what was happening.

"We’ve never met but I had to fly to Miami to look this man @thembagorimbo_mma in the eyes, hug him and shake his hand," The Rock said of the interaction.

"I’ve been moved & motivated by his story ❤️"

Gorimbo also spoke about the special meeting ... saying, "I am very grateful to have finally met @therock today after he saw about my $7 bucks situation."

"Big man with a big heart and he has changed my life completely today and I shall forever be grateful. I didn’t know how to thank him because words aren’t enough."

San Antonio Spurs point guard Devonte' Graham was sentenced to probation in his DWI case on Thursday, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court documents, the 28-year-old hooper -- who pled guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired stemming from his July 2022 arrest -- received a 21-day jail sentence ... but it was suspended, and Graham was placed on unsupervised probation for 12 months instead.

Per the docs, Graham was also required to pay $393 in fines and fees as part of his sentencing as well.

Graham was initially hit with the DWI charge following his arrest on July 7, 2022. At the time, authorities said they placed the NBA player in custody after they alleged he had been doing 63 MPH in a 40 MPH zone while intoxicated at around 3 AM in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Graham had been a member of the New Orleans Pelicans at the time of the arrest ... though the former second-round pick was sent to the Spurs a few months later in a trade for Josh Richardson.