Money

All of the professional sports teams in Los Angeles have come together to help those affected by the wildfires in Hawaii ... pooling up $450,000 to send to the Red Cross to support the victims.

The Lakers announced the generous donation Thursday morning ... saying they and the other teams in the City of Angels wanted to do what they could to make sure Hawaiians are getting aid during their time of need.

In addition to the Lakers -- who had previously held their training camps in Hawaii for more than two decades -- the Clippers, Angels, Angel City Football Club, Chargers, Dodgers, Anaheim Ducks, L.A. Galaxy, LAFC, Kings, Rams and Sparks all contributed.

"Despite California and Hawaii being separated by more than 2,000 miles," the Lakers said in a statement, "the two states are very connected with a robust Hawaiian community calling Southern California home."

More in the sports world have also recently pitched in, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose been consistently speaking with organizations in Hawaii with the hopes of getting people to donate to the Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Fund.

Legendary surfer Kelly Slater told us last week he and the surfing community also plan on helping out by sending money and supplies.

Drake was in a VERY generous mood at his latest tour stop ... spoiling a lucky young lady with a pink Birkin bag!!!

Champagne Papi performed at L.A.'s Kia Forum in Inglewood Wednesday night, dangling the pink prize in front of fans as he crooned in full-blown Toronto patois.

Drake then picked out the lucky female, as the crowd went insane ... and ordered his security to make sure she secured the bag safely. Birkin bags can run well past five figures in retail, so she definitely left with an investment.

We should note, Drake's no stranger to the famous bags, he once admitted he's been collecting them for years, simply to satisfy the woman he eventually calls his wife.

Not to be outdone, Drake's father, Dennis Graham, delivered a gift he had been planning for weeks ... the biggest bra ever and with a note that read, "Dad's wishing 'BIG' things for you, I love you and making sure you're breastfed correctly!!!" 😂😂😂

Drake's fans have been in a bra-throwing competition since we broke the story about Veronica Correia earning a modeling offer after throwing her size 36G bra during the tour in June.

But it looks like Dad's got this one won.

Michael Oher knew the Tuohy family were his "legal conservators" in 2011, despite claiming in legal docs that he just became aware this February ... and the proof is in the former NFL star's own book.

Oher wrote "I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond" -- a memoir that was released in 2011 -- and specifically talked about the legal relationship he had with the family.

"It kind of felt like a formality, as I'd been a part of the family for more than a year at that point. Since I was already over the age of eighteen and considered an adult by the state of Tennessee, Sean and Leigh Anne would be named as my 'legal conservators,'" Oher said.

Michael continued ... "They explained to me that it means pretty much the exact same thing as 'adoptive parents,' but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account. Honestly, I didn't care what it was called. I was just happy that no one could argue that we weren't legally what we already knew was real: We were a family."

Of course, it seemingly puts a hole in Oher's story. Just this week he claimed in legal documents filed in Tennessee that he only found out about the conservatorship in early 2023 ... a move his attorney alleges the Tuohy's pulled to gain "total control over Michael Oher's ability to negotiate for or enter any contract."

His beef with Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy centers around money he claims they earned from the hit movie, "The Blind Side" ... of which he says he got nothing.

However, the Tuohy's issued a statement refuting Oher's claims across the board -- forcefully denying they got rich from the film, and saying they never misled Michael about the conservatorship.

Oher's attorney asked for an accounting of money the family made through contracts negotiated on his behalf ... in what appeared to be a precursor to a lawsuit.

It'll be interesting to see what happens now that the book has resurfaced, since Oher clearly knew of the conservatorship.

Britney Spears is quickly embracing her newly single life, spotted cruising around without her wedding ring.

Britney was in her Mercedes on Wednesday wearing a pair of sunglasses … but most importantly, sporting a naked ring finger.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen her without a ring on, but this time is obviously more significant.

TMZ broke the story, Sam moved out last week after a blowout fight. Our sources say he accused Britney of cheating — though we haven’t confirmed whether or not that actually happened — and things escalated from there.

While neither has filed for divorce, we’re told it’s imminent.

The home where Aaron Carter died has officially sold ... and the bathroom where the singer's body was found has been completely remodeled.

Christie Limpus of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices held the listing, and tells TMZ … Aaron's Lancaster house closed Wednesday for $765,000. You'll recall, it was put on the market in April for just under $850k.

We're told the bathroom got a big facelift, although no photos are being shared of the remodel. The purchase was a probate sale because Aaron died without a will ... and Christie says the keys are being handed over to a happy family.

TMZ broke the story, the money made from the sale was going directly to Aaron's estate, and into a trust for his 1-year-old son, Prince. Remember, Aaron bought the place in 2019 for $430k, and actually put it on the market about a month before he died.

Rachel Leviss made a killing on the last season of "Vanderpump Rules," TMZ has learned ... which makes Bethenny Frankel's claim Rachel made less than her interns a bunch of BS.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ Rachel made more than $350k for season 10 of the show -- nearly $20k an episode for a total of 19 episodes -- so certainly not chump change.

ICYMI, Bethenny told Rachel on her "Just B" podcast Wednesday that her own interns make more dough than Rachel did on 'VPR,' which came as a shock to Rachel.

Fans online slammed Bethenny's interview as embarrassing, and reminiscent of Howie Mandel's unhinged interview with Tom Sandoval back in April -- focusing more on his mustache than the cheating scandal.

Folks also pointed out the fact Bethenny didn't seem prepped for the interview, and she even admitted on the podcast that she had never watched the Bravo show and had only seen clips online after taking interest in Rachel and Scandoval.

So Bethenny either had no clue what Rachel really made, or she's completely overpaying her interns ... 'cause $350k ain't bad.

You'll recall, Bethenny and her attorneys have been hearing from dozens of NBC reality stars after firing off a legal threat earlier this month, claiming production employees have been tormenting the shows' castmembers. She's even been fighting for reality stars to unionize.

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

NeNe Leakes is being taken to court over her shop, Swagg Boutique ... her former landlord says she owes a bunch of dough in unpaid rent.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, NeNe's being sued by her landlord at Sugarloaf Mills -- the shopping center where her women's clothing store once stood. The landlord says Leakes first signed a lease agreement back in 2017 and then extended it for another year in 2021.

However, the landlord claims she vacated in January 2022, when the term ended, but never paid off the balance of $22,900 owed under the lease.

The landlord allegedly sent NeNe a letter last month, telling her to pay up to avoid any legal woes -- but says she never ponied up the money.

So now NeNe is being dragged to court ... and the landlord wants damages to cover the back rent plus its attorney's fees.

For those unaware, the 'RHOA' star's Swagg Boutique stores shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... and it reportedly wasn't long after finally reopening that she began holding "going out of business" sales at her multiple locations.

Chris Brown's affinity for the timestamp "11:11" has led him to shape his entire next album around those digits ... and if the stars align for him, he'll have a pretty groovy concept to market!!!

The R&B superstar outlined his developing album plans on Wednesday, revealing his wishes for the album to be named "11:11" ... as it will be his 11th full-length project.

CB says the album will fittingly have 11 songs, and he's looking toward November 11 (11.11.23) for the release date.

For many, 11:11 is a symbol of good luck and spirituality, which CB is clearly hoping to drum up after his last LP, 2022's "Breezy," didn't get the reception he hoped for.

It only debuted at No. 4, forcing CB to lash out against the lack of fanfare, which prompted T-Pain to call him out over the tantrum.

Quinton Aaron -- the man who played Michael Oher in "The Blind Side" -- is furious with those clamoring for Sandra Bullock to lose her Oscar over the new Oher drama ... telling TMZ Sports the actress has absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

The cry for Bullock to be stripped of the award gained steam on X on Tuesday ... with a bunch of users on the app saying following Oher's claims that Leigh Anne Tuohy lied to him and exploited him -- the woman who played her in "The Blind Side" should now face punishment.

As crazy as the opinion sounds -- the cries grew louder and louder throughout the day ... but Aaron told us he hopes all of that dies down quickly.

"To make a statement like that doesn't make any sense," Aaron said. "Sandra Bullock didn't have anything to do with the real story that we're reading as of right now."

Of course, Bullock earned the honor back in 2010 ... after she played the role of Aaron's fictitious mom in the 2009 hit flick. And, Aaron says she couldn't have been more deserving of the praise at the time.

"She gave a brilliant performance," Aaron said. "And that shouldn't be tarnished for something that had nothing to do with her."

Aaron also spoke with us about all of the new allegations surrounding the Tuohys ... and while he said he hasn't talked to them since the movie came out, he didn't get a vibe that anything nefarious was happening with regards to their relationship with Oher.

"I got a good sense from all of them," he said. "They were real cool to me."

As for where things stand now with the Tuohys and Oher ... it's all gotten super ugly, as the family has now accused the former football player of trying to shake them down for $15 million.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are lighter in their real estate portfolio, but heavier in their pockets as they just sold off their beautiful Miami home.

The two purchased the home for $11 million about a year ago, listed it for $16.995M and eventually sold it for $15M. Definitely an impressive profit over such a short period of time, but they also reportedly did some renovations on the pad, so you gotta account for that too.

The lucky owners of the 10,400 sqft home will enjoy its tall ceilings, renovated kitchen and a ton of windows to take in all that Miami sunshine.

There's also a beautiful pool in the backyard with direct water access and a dock for any potential boaters. Carl Gambino of Compass held the listing.

Unclear why Joe and Sophie made the decision to unload the place so quickly, but they've got two small kiddos ... so maybe they've decided to go elsewhere and potentially continue to expand their fam.

Todd Chrisley isn't irked at all by his family starting a new reality series while he's locked up in prison -- in fact, he thinks it's a fantastic idea.

Jay Surgent, Todd's attorney, tells TMZ ... the reality star is "thrilled and happy" members of his family are launching the new show, and hopes it'll depict the devastation his family has been facing since he and Julie were sent to prison at the beginning of this year.

Translation: It's all good, as long as no one's smiling! Less joy, more pain.

We're told Todd will not be a part of the show, but their kids Chase, Savannah, Grayson, and adopted daughter, Chloe -- as well as Todd's mom, Nanny Faye -- are all reportedly starring in the new series, picking up after Todd and Julie started doing their time.

TMZ broke the story, Todd claims he's been severely mistreated while locked up at FPC Pensacola -- allegedly dealing with things like photos being taken of him while sleeping, his mail not being delivered to him and no AC in Florida's summer conditions.

What's more, Todd's now telling Jay he has no way of contacting him from inside prison -- Jay's allegedly blocked from Todd's mail, phone and email lists, but the attorney has no clue why ... and says he can't get answers from prison administration.

For what it's worth, we're told Jay is able to set up appointments to speak with Todd, through the help of Todd's prison counselor.

A woman's life turned upside-down when she sent a bunch of money to one of the stars from "Stranger Things" ... and even divorced her husband because the "actor" told her to.

McKayla, a single mom from Kentucky, claims she was catfished and scammed out of $10k by someone who claimed to be Dacre Montgomery -- known for playing heartthrob-turned-villain, Billy Hargrove, in the Netflix series.

She shared her wild experience on the YouTube channel, Catfished, saying the 2 met on an online forum and chatted for a year before he asked her to be his girlfriend -- for reference, McKayla was still married, but claimed her relationship with her husband was toxic.

BTW, the real Dacre has been dating model Liv Pollock since 2017, but that bit of crucial info didn't seem to stop McKayla from thinking this was legit. He told her to choose between her husband and him ... and shockingly enough, she ditched her husband!

He also told her he couldn't access any of his bank accounts, saying they were all controlled by Liv ... which led to her sending the $10k of gift cards, crypto, and cash through payment apps over time.

The Tuohy family says before Michael Oher made "outlandish," "hurtful" and "absurd" claims about them in court on Monday ... he actually tried to shake them down for $15 MILLION.

Marty Singer -- the Tuohy family attorney -- said it all happened recently ... and, what's worse, he claimed this is not the first time Oher has done this.

Singer -- in a lengthy statement to TMZ Sports -- said Oher came to the Tuohys prior to filing his 14-page petition in Shelby County, Tenn. ... and threatened them, saying if they didn't pony up an eight-figure check, he'd "plant a negative story about them in the press."

Singer denied all of the allegations in Oher's court filing ... explaining that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy absolutely did not trick the former NFL star into getting into a conservatorship when he was 18 years old as he had claimed.

The conservatorship "was established to assist with Mr. Oher’s needs, ranging from getting him health insurance and obtaining a driver’s license to helping with college admissions," Singer said. "Should Mr. Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at anytime in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way."

As for Oher's claims that the Tuohys used the conservatorship to broker a movie deal with Fox behind Oher's back that netted them millions -- while leaving Oher with nothing -- Singer said that was BS as well.

"The notion that a couple worth hundreds of millions of dollars would connive to withhold a few thousand dollars in profit participation payments from anyone -- let alone from someone they loved as a son -- defies belief," Singer said.

Instead, the attorney claimed Tuesday the Tuohys had "received a small advance from the production company and a tiny percentage of net profits" from "The Blind Side" ... money Singer said the Tuohys have always either shared with Oher or have tried to share with the former Baltimore Ravens tackle.

"Over the years, the Tuohys have given Mr. Oher an equal cut of every penny received from 'The Blind Side,'" Singer said. "Even recently, when Mr. Oher started to threaten them about what he would do unless they paid him an eight-figure windfall, and, as part of that shakedown effort refused to cash the small profit checks from the Tuohys, they still deposited Mr. Oher’s equal share into a trust account they set up for his son."

Singer continued, "Unbeknownst to the public, Mr. Oher has actually attempted to run this play several times before – but it seems that numerous other lawyers stopped representing him once they saw the evidence and learned the truth. Sadly, Mr. Oher has finally found a willing enabler and filed this ludicrous lawsuit as a cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour."

Singer added the Tuohys are "heartbroken" over it all and they hope to reconcile with Oher soon ... though "they will not hesitate to defend their good names, stand up to this shakedown and defeat this offensive lawsuit."

Bunk beds at the Little League World Series are out for good ... the tandem sleeping units will be permanently removed from the prestigious event going forward after a player was seriously injured in one of them last year.

Little League officials said in a statement to the Associated Press on Monday ... the decision was made after Easton Oliverson suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed while falling from a top bunk inside the LLWS' dormitory complex in Williamsport, Penn. in 2022.

"Out of an abundance of caution," the officials said, "we placed all beds individually on the floor during last year’s World Series, and in preparation for the 2023 Little League International Tournament, Little League decided to provide its participants with single, one-level beds for all of their player housing at each of its tournament locations, including those in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where the dormitories can accommodate all 14 single beds."

This year's version of the event is slated to begin later this week.

As we previously reported, Oliverson nearly died following a fall at last year's LLWS ... with his family saying the 12-year-old tumbled from a top bunk to the floor while he was asleep.

Oliverson was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery ... but, thankfully, he survived.

The player's family went on to sue Little League Baseball over the fall, alleging the beds were not safe. Little League officials never publicly commented on the allegations in the suit.

Mark Zuckerberg is hellbent on taking a fight in the UFC -- NOT with Elon Musk, but possibly with an actual UFC fighter -- and now, Dana White is more than insinuating it could actually go down!

As you know, Zuck's moved on from a fight with Elon, saying last Friday, " ... I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready." So, he's got some plan for his "next fight."

He went on to say, "I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of their game," adding, "You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well."

Zuck said Monday, "I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

So, who are the "elite athletes" and "people who take the sport seriously?" It seems unlikely there's another Elon out there -- billionaire vs. billionaire -- and it doesn't make a lot of sense Zuck would involve the UFC for some amateur fight with a rando.

We know Zuck's been in communication with UFC Prez Dana White for well over a month and probably a lot longer, and Dana has 500 fighters on his roster who would love this kind of attention -- fighting M.Z.

Now there's no way Zuck would fight a UFC vet, but what about a fighter who just joined the org?

We contacted Dana with our connect-the-dots theory, and here's what he told us ... "I have said since day 1 Mark is a very serious guy. He loves the sport and is training hard. I believe he is serious about fighting in the UFC."

Notice Dana said "fighting IN the UFC." That more than suggests he'd be fighting someone on the INside, not the outside.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann's marriage is one big rollercoaster ride -- we're told their ongoing money struggles are still taking a toll, making for some pretty bad days as they attempt to stay together.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... Kim and Kroy's steep financial troubles -- which they still won't publicly address -- are putting a lot of pressure on them. We're told they'll be fine one day, and then at each other's throats the next.

Our sources also say there's an equal amount of blame being thrown around their household -- you'll recall, they allegedly owe $1M to the IRS, and they've been sued by companies like Target and BMW for being behind on payments.

We're told there's still a lot of finger-pointing going on, even though they withdrew the divorce.

As for their 4 kids, we're told they're seeing everything going down ... especially because a lot of their recent blowups have been happening inside their home.

However, our sources say Kim and Kroy do want their marriage to work, and they're trying their best to keep it alive amid their ongoing drama.