Money

Diddy will have to find another cannabis company to capitalize on, as the Bad Boy mogul's intended $185 million purchase to acquire a pair of marijuana operations is no longer going down.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Diddy waited in the wings as Cresco Labs and Columbia Care planned their proposed merger that was agreed upon last year.

However, we're told the shareholders never reached an agreement, and Diddy's deal was terminated earlier this week as a consequence. Diddy's team tells us he and his Combs Global empire still have a vested interest in pursuing opportunities to diversify the cannabis industry ... they just have to find the perfect fit.

The move would've made Diddy the owner of 9 stores throughout New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, with each having its own production facility ... effectively making him the biggest Black cannabis business owner.

Newly released police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows a cop was furious with Marquise Brown during his arrest last year ... ordering the NFL star out of his car before asking, "The hell you going that fast for?!"

Brown was initially pulled over by the Arizona Department of Public Safety on Aug. 3, 2022 ... after authorities say they clocked him going 126 MPH in a 65 MPH zone -- and you can see in body cam footage, the arresting officer was not pleased at all over the situation.

The video shows after the cop got the Arizona Cardinals wideout to stop on a highway in the Phoenix area, he raced to the football player's door ... and screamed, "Get out of the car right now!"

When he slapped the cuffs on Brown for criminal speed ... he demanded to know what the big hurry was.

"Sorry," Brown responded, "I was on my way to football practice, sir."

The cop, still not happy with the football player, then told the 25-year-old, "You know better than going that fast."

"Yes, sir," Brown responded. "I'm new here, sir."

The wide receiver, who had just been traded to the Cards from the Ravens a few months prior to the traffic stop, added, "I didn't realize I was going that fast."

The officer then put him into the back his squad car -- where Brown informed a Cardinals staffer that he was being arrested.

Brown was eventually hit with a criminal charge over the matter ... though in February, he reached a deal with prosecutors where he agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of excessive speed to close out the case. In March, he was ordered to pay $473 ... but the judge decided to waive the fine and just give him credit for time served.

When initially addressing the arrest with reporters, Brown called it all "very disappointing" ... while vowing to learn from it.

Travis Scott's "Utopia" is headed to a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 -- but not all of the album's participants are celebrating.

Rapper KayCyy, who worked closely with Kanye West on his "Donda" album, is reaming Travis for not crediting him on the track "Thank God" ... despite his vocals being heard on the track.

KayCyy couldn't contain his anger and lashed out at Travis after fans kept pestering him about being left off the credits ... rapper Teezo Touchdown's name made the cut.

Another fan noted how Travis didn't acknowledge KayCyy's appreciation for the album on social media when it dropped last Friday ... another indicator for the Minnesota-bred rapper that Travis could be trying to avoid sharing the royalties altogether.

Interestingly enough, KayCyy initially began working on "Thank God" for Ye's "Donda" before it ended up in Trav's "Utopia" desert.

Mark Zuckerberg's preparation for a potential fight with Elon Musk might just relegate him to sleeping on the couch ... because the billionaire revealed Wednesday his decision to build an Octagon at his home has really ticked off his wife.

Zuck got the fighting arena installed in his backyard this week ... and when he pointed it out to his significant other, Priscilla Chan, he appeared to think she'd be stoked about him being able to now grapple just a few feet from his living room.

"It looks awesome," he said over text to Chan ... adding, "We have plenty of yard space!" when he noticed she wasn't exactly thrilled over it.

That's when, however, she dropped a bomb on him ... saying, "I have been working on that grass for two years."

Seems Zuck knows he now needs to at least consider getting rid of his new training toy ... because he posted a poll asking his followers whether he should "Keep the octagon" or "Save the grass."

For now, the masses believe he should say bye-bye to the sod ... 'cause, after all, dude might be fighting Musk in just a matter of months.

In continuing to investigate claims of misconduct against Vince McMahon, federal agents served a grand jury subpoena and executed a search warrant against the WWE honcho last month ... though McMahon said on Wednesday he's confident the probe will ultimately find no wrongdoing.

WWE revealed the new developments of the federal investigation in a Security and Exchange Commissions filing this week ... saying they happened back on July 17.

The wrestling org. also noted in the filing that federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies have hit it with demands for documents "concerning the investigation and related subject matters."

The WWE, however, said "no charges have been brought in these investigations" at this point.

"We believe this is a continuation of the investigation that commenced last summer," the company said in a statement regarding the matter. "WWE has cooperated throughout and fully understands and respects the government’s need for a complete process."

McMahon, meanwhile, said he was sure no charges will ever come ... saying in a statement of his own, "I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so. I am confident that the government’s investigation will be resolved without any findings of wrongdoing."

According to a July 2022 Wall Street Journal report, McMahon agreed to pay millions of dollars in "hush money" to several different women throughout his tenure as WWE boss. The org. launched an investigation into the claims -- and amid it all, he stepped down from his role in the company.

But, months later, in January, he returned.

Leah Remini is being stalked and harassed by the Church of Scientology as part of a coordinated campaign to destroy her life because she left the religion ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The actress just filed suit against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, and she says Scientology is dead set on making her life a living hell now that she's no longer a part of the church.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Leah claims Scientology is stalking her and invading her privacy because the church is determined to silence her and others who are critical of the religion.

Leah claims the alleged abuse coming her way is part of a broader policy and practice of intimidation within the Church of Scientology ... which she says dates all the way back to founder L. Ron Hubbard.

In her suit, Leah says Scientology has been attacking her with systematic and coordinated campaigns of harassment ever since she renounced the religion ... and she claims the retaliation tactics are ramping up in order to damage her Hollywood and business careers by tarnishing her reputation.

Leah says she was a Scientologist for nearly 40 years before leaving ... and in the decade since she left, she's been the victim of "intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors" via hundreds of social media accounts controlled by Scientology, which she says exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation.

For example, Leah claims Scientology enlisted dozens of members to videotape messages falsely accusing her of being abusive and a racist and uploading them to web domains using her name.

She says she first became aware she was being followed by private investigators hired by Scientology in 2015, when she was promoting a memoir she wrote about Scientology's alleged abusive conduct ... and she says she hired private security as a result.

Leah also claims Scientology had members send threatening letters to news outlets who were promoting her book ... and she says the church created websites to smear A&E after her documentary series on Scientology.

In the docs, Leah claims the alleged stalking and harassment is causing her to lose personal relationships, business deals and other opportunities ... and she's going after the church for damages for what she says is "enormous economic and psychological harm."

So Johnny Manziel walked into a bar ... 'cause he owns the place!!!

The former Texas A&M football superstar is getting into the hospitality industry ... opening up his very own watering hole in his old stomping grounds of College Station.

The place is called Johnny Manziel's Money Bar ... which is a clear nod to the famous nickname he was given after getting suspended for selling his autograph.

Of course, the business move makes perfect sense -- Johnny hasn't been shy about his love for having a good time ... and recently revealed in his upcoming Netflix project he once went on a $5 million bender.

"I thought I played better the harder I partied," Manziel said in the 'Untold' documentary.

He also previously opened up on his NFL experience ... saying he felt bad for losing the respect of his teammates for his off-field lifestyle during his time in Cleveland.

Manziel -- who had a stint in rehab in 2015 -- is content with how his career played out ... and appears to be in good spirits post-football.

Taylor Swift gave away way more money in bonuses than previously known -- in fact, it was more like tens of millions ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources tell us Taylor did, in fact, shell out north of $50 million for every member of the 'Eras' tour crew -- that includes the $100k per trucker we previously reported, which itself came out to about $5 million, seeing how there's around 50 guys hauling her tour equipment from city to city.

There was a lot more dough to go around as it turns out. We're hearing that the additional $45 million-plus was divvied up among everyone working on her tour ... including sound techs, caterers, stagehands, backing musicians, etc. Of course, her backup dancers got paid too. People reported it was about $55 million total given out.

Now, it's unclear what amount each department received -- but our sources say the dancers and others did get more than, say, the truckers did ... which was already a hell of a lot.

Point is ... TayTay opened up her wallet and took care of her people in a big way, something that's unheard of in this day and age of big act tours. Considering how much dough the 'Eras' tour has generated -- upwards of a billion dollars -- it's safe to say ... she can afford it.

As you know, the U.S. leg of the 'Eras' tour is winding down -- she's doing her final 6 shows here in L.A. starting Thursday at SoFi Stadium, and wrapping up next Wednesday.

Post Malone's Magic: The Gathering collection just got a whole lot "better now" ... 'cause the musician scooped up one of the game's rarest cards this week -- a piece that some believe is worth more than $2 MILLION!!

The card -- a 1-of-1 called "The One Ring" -- was put out by MTG back in June as part of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set ... and when it got pulled by an anonymous collector just days later, everyone wondered what would end up happening to it.

Turns out, Post Malone -- a lifelong fan of MTG -- hunted it down ... and finally bought it off the owner on Tuesday.

Unclear what he ultimately paid for it -- though some collectors had reportedly made $2 million offers on it already. Regardless, check out the video of when he decided to make the purchase, he was clearly stoked for it despite the high price tag.

The guy who sold it, meanwhile, said he couldn't have been more thrilled to pass it on to a true MTG collector like Post.

"When I found the One Ring," Brook Trafton wrote in the caption of the video of him selling it to the rapper, "the first person who came to mind was @postmalone."

"I have played MTG since I was a kid and obviously it would be amazing to keep this card. But for a guy like me, being able to sell it is life changing. I just really hoped it would go to someone who would appreciate it as much as I do. This is my dream come true, meeting @postmalone and him buying the One Ring card from me is literally a moment straight out of a fairytale."

In addition to being the only one of its kind, the Lord of the Rings tribute card has some other sweet features -- it's got gold foil accents all over it, and "001/001" is emblazoned on the front.

It'll now join Post's Magic collection that already includes an $800,000 Black Lotus ... and a bunch of other rare pieces.

Cardi B's microphone-turned-weapon during her recent Las Vegas show is now getting tossed onto an auction block ... and it's all for a good cause.

The mic Cardi hurled into the crowd at Drai's Nightclub actually belongs to an audio production company called The Wave in Sin City, and the owner tells us he decided to auction it off to benefit a couple of charities.

Scott Fisher tells TMZ … it was pretty easy to track down the mic after the show, because the white tape across the bottom of it says "MAIN," and it still works despite Cardi chucking it into the crowd. Scott says his company provides audio support for most of the major nightclubs in Vegas, including Drai's.

Videos of Cardi B throwing the mic have gone viral ... and as we first reported, she's now listed as a suspect for battery because a woman who says she was struck by the mic went to police and reported the incident.

As you probably know by now ... Cardi B was performing during a scorching hot day, and had asked the crowd to douse her with water to cool her off, but later she lost her cool when someone threw a cup full of liquid and ice at her, retaliating with the mic toss.

The starting bid on the eBay listing is $500 and Scott says the mic originally cost $1,000 ... so it will be interesting to see where the winning bid lands.

Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers is being accused of betting on multiple school sporting events -- including a 2021 football game -- and now, his NCAA eligibility is in jeopardy.

The allegations are laid out in a criminal complaint obtained by the Des Moines Register ... which claims a DraftKings account controlled by Dekkers executed more than 350 wagers totaling "over $2,799."

26 of those wagers, according to the complaint, were related to Iowa State sporting events ... and one was the Cyclones' home matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2021, in which Dekkers' team won 24-21.

Dekkers -- who started under center for the Cyclones in 2022 -- did not play in the game ... as he was the backup at the time.

The outlet reports the Story County Attorney's Office is charging Dekkers with tampering with records related to the Iowa division of criminal investigation's probe into sports gambling.

It's a major issue for Dekkers -- the NCAA has strict rules against players betting on their own team and school ... and it could result in a permanent ban.

Dekkers threw for more than 3,000 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season ... with the Cyclones going 1-8.

Taylor Swift is sharing the wealth from her wildly successful Eras Tour ... in the form of six-figure bonuses for the truckers hauling her equipment all around the country!

Our Taylor sources tell us she gifted each trucker working her tour $100,000 ... handing out the bonus checks before her Saturday show in Santa Clara, CA.

We're told the folks getting the money are production truck drivers who have been hauling Taylor's equipment for The Eras Tour ... there are around 50 truckers for her U.S. tour, which means Taylor just shelled out about $5 million.

Our sources say the checks were an "end of the tour" bonus ... remember, the United States leg is coming to a close next week when Taylor plays a series of gigs at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood before moving down to Mexico.

Taylor's nationwide tour has raked in $1 billion in sales ... and when the dust settles, she could end up having the highest-grossing tour of all time!!!

Truck drivers aren't the only ones getting a slice of the pie in the form of bonuses.

Our production sources tell us Taylor also bonused band members, dancers, lighting and sound technicians, caterers, and others. It's unclear how much the non-truckers received, but we're told it was a "very generous amount."

Bottom line ... it pays to work for Taylor.

The front door to the infamous house where Charles Manson's maniacal followers murdered Sharon Tate is up on an auction block ... and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor played a key role in the artifact making it there.

The door once stood at 10050 Cielo Drive, but had quite the journey following the grisly Manson murders in 1969, according to Christopher Moore ... the door's current owner, who's selling it through Julien's Auctions.

Trent recorded his group's "Downward Spiral" album in the house while renting it in 1992 ... but Christopher tells us the singer took the door with him when he moved out the next year before the place was razed.

And, as we reported, "Full House" creator Jeff Franklin's mansion sits on the land today -- and that's been re-listed multiple times, first going on the market for $85 mil but now it's just under $55M.

Christopher says Trent went on to use the door as the entry to his New Orleans recording space -- but he relocated the studio to L.A. in 2004, and put the NOLA building up for sale.

We're told a doctor scooped up the property in 2012, but took the front door out of the trash when he found out its historical significance.

From there, Chris says he bought it off the doc in 2017 and was planning on installing it into an old church he owned, but the historical district said no dice ... so, instead, he put it up on the auction block.

The piece was expected to fetch anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000, but it's skyrocketed past $22k with just 7 bids! FYI, the auction doesn't close until September ... so we're guessing it's gonna keep climbing.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is making any pizza lover's dream come true -- assembling some of the most famous pie joints for a massive festival ... and he's dubbing it the biggest of its kind.

El Pres -- who's reviewed more than 1,000 pizza places over the years -- spoke with TMZ Sports about his latest venture in the food industry ... the One Bite Pizza Festival, which is slated to go down September 23.

"I'm super psyched about it," Portnoy said. "I've always wanted to do a pizza festival, but I never gave it a ton of thought, because I didn't think it was possible."

But after brainstorming with his partner, Medium Rare -- the company behind events with guys like Shaquille O'Neal, Travis Kelce, and Rob Gronkowski -- Portnoy put together a roster of restaurants that he deems the best of its kind.

"Anybody who's a pizza fan, if you go look at the list of the pizza places that are involved in this, there has never been a better assembling of pizza places in the world ever."

"We have the top of the top of the top pizza places all participating."

Portnoy's foray into the biz started over an office convo about whether he could eat pizza every day for the rest of his life -- he made reviews of the spots he visited, made an app to help users find his top-rated restaurants, and even created his own frozen pie brand.

Now, Dave is bringing all his favorites in one place for people to chow down on some slices ... all while enjoying tunes from Teddy Swims, Barstool band Pup Punk and DJ IRIE.

The One Bite Fest goes down September 23 in Coney Island ... so fans have plenty of time to make room in their stomachs.

"There hasn't been ever in the world a bigger grouping of the best pizza places. This is it."

The house Aretha Franklin grew up in now belongs to a new family, and it looks like they're gonna have as much luck there as she did -- 'cause they got a great deal on the place.

According to property records the Detroit property officially transferred hands last Wednesday when the sale closed. We're told the buyers are not celebs, just normal folks who ended up snagging the home for quite a bit less than what it was listed for a couple months ago.

Remember, it hit the market in May for $379,900 -- that was after it was originally listed in January, and then taken off the market. Welp, the new owners negotiated their way down to a final offer of $355k.

Like we said, it's a helluva bargain ... 'cause the property itself actually has a lot to offer.

It's a 6-bed, 5-bath residence with 6,000 square feet of living space, and it's got a solid brick foundation with a lovely interior. There are fireplaces throughout the pad, and you can even fit in an extra 1-bedroom unit upstairs.

As far as Aretha's ties to this address ... she lived here in her formative years, age 5 to 18. She famously came back to visit the home in 2011, reminiscing on fond memories.

The crib could use a little bit of work, no doubt -- you'll recall, it was actually abandoned for a little while, but all in all, a great investment ... especially considering it's connection to the Queen of Soul.

Hollywood actors are stuck between a rock and a hard place amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike -- best exemplified by one particular thespian, who's now doing odd jobs to keep afloat.

Josh Hooks, who's been on shows like "Will Trent," "Swagger" and "The Game," among others ... joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to explain how he -- like tens of thousands of other actors and writers -- is maintaining job/money-wise during the labor stalemate.

One gig Josh has picked up is cleaning houses, plus several other odd jobs -- as he explains, it's a great time to be a jack of all trades. Sounds like Craigslist is his best friend these days.

There are methods JH and his fellow striking actors are implementing to get by during this hard time -- including leaning on each other for support, which he says entails cooking and sharing grub, or referring somebody to a new gig if there's work on the table to go around.

He also reflects on how frustrating his journey in showbiz has been in these recent years. First, his momentum from 2019 got derailed because of COVID ... which halted a lot of productions for a good long while. Now that he's got some mojo again ... it's the strike.

Despite this ... Josh fully backs his union in hitting the picket lines, adding that he's happy to serve as a voice for countless people who are fighting for better working conditions.

He's hoping these differences can be resolved sooner than later, but in the meantime -- he's clearly making do however he can ... just like so many others are as well.

Tough times.