Money

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Oprah Winfrey are stepping up to help those affected by the recent wildfires in Maui ... launching a $10 million fund to financially support thousands of residents.

Johnson and Winfrey announced the initiative Thursday morning ... saying after brainstorming a bit on how they could offer assistance, they decided to kick-start the People's Fund of Maui.

The initiative is designed to put money directly in the pockets of those impacted by the devastating fires in Lahaina and Kula, which includes the many who lost their homes and were forced to evacuate.

Johnson says people can apply to receive $1,200 a month as they recover ... and he's hoping more donations pour in overtime to add to their own massive contribution.

"We are honored to start this campaign with $10 million dollars and ask for your help in donating to those who have lost their homes," Johnson said. "We thank you in advance for your contribution. "

Lionel Messi was back on the pitch in Florida for the first time in nearly a month Wednesday night ... and, as has become tradition, celebs flocked to see him -- including Floyd Mayweather and Alix Earle, who got VIP treatment at the game.

The new MLS superstar had maybe his quietest night since joining Inter Miami -- scoring zero goals in a 0-0 tie against Nashville SC -- but A-listers were spotted throughout DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale enjoying the GOAT in action nonetheless.

Mayweather and Earle, flanked by NFL superstar Jaylen Waddle, got prime seats and field access as guests of Miami mogul David Grutman.

Ken Griffey Jr. even showed up too ... though he chose to grab a media credential instead of suite seats -- opting to shoot the game with his camera instead of rubbin' elbows in the stands with the stars.

At one point, however, the MLB legend was able to link up with Mayweather -- who was also with friend Lionel Khoury -- sharing an embrace with the boxer and getting in a pic.

Unclear how much facetime all of the celebrities got with Messi -- the soccer player was, after all, busy trying to scrape out another win for his squad -- but everyone was grinning ear-to-ear throughout the night nonetheless.

They'll all have to wait a bit to do it again -- Messi's not set to play in Ft. Lauderdale 'til Sept. 9 now -- unless, of course, they want to fly out to Los Angeles this weekend to see him vs. LAFC.

Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef have reached a divorce settlement.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, the former couple entered into an uncontested written agreement. Details have not yet been disclosed, but at the very least, we know they'll both be declared single once the judge signs off on their agreement.

Last month, Martin and Yosef jointly announced they were calling it quits after 6 years of marriage.

In a statement, they wrote, "We have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children and honoring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years."

They went on ... "Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centered on peace and friendship to continue the joint upbringing of our children, preserving the respect and love we have for each other."

LeVar Burton's TV days are far from over, and ditto for expanding people's minds -- 'cause the dude is about to venture out on a Trivial Pursuit ... one that's almost a sealed deal.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... LeVar and his team are close to locking in terms on a new job he's been teeing up for a couple years now -- namely, as executive producer and host of the new Trivial Pursuit game show ... which is going to be aired on the CW.

We're told things are almost finalized between LeVar and the network, and that the series already has a 12-episode order. So, yes ... we're gonna see LeVar on the tube again in due time.

As for how all this came together ... well, our sources tell us that's actually all due to Hasbro -- the toy company that owns the rights to Trivial Pursuit, who initially brought him in.

We're told Hasbro honchos thought of LB after he got snubbed by Sony execs for the highly-coveted "Jeopardy!" hosting job -- which was a whole saga in and of itself. Remember, Sony never even approached him for the gig -- nor did they seriously consider him.

Obviously, Hasbro thought differently ... and the conversations kicked into high gear after the CW became attached to developing Trivial Pursuit into a game show. If you're unfamiliar, TP sees players answering a variety of trivia questions, touching on a bunch of categories.

It's kind of the perfect next chapter for the dude who hosted "Reading Rainbow."

Burger King's taking a partial 'L' in court ... a judge says they'll have to go to trial over a lawsuit alleging their Whopper ads are misleading -- AKA, size matters here, folks.

This has been cooking for about a year now -- a class action lawsuit was filed in 2022 taking aim at BK's signature hamburger and how it's been portrayed ... specifically its size, which the class action plaintiffs believe amounts to false advertising.

The suit alleges Burger King's been showing off massive Whoppers in just about all of their promotional material -- from TV spots to online pages and other forms of advertisement -- and that they've been duping customers by giving them itty-bitty Whoppers IRL, which pale in comparison to the ads.

As a result of this alleged deception ... the lawsuit claims Burger King has been getting rich off the backs of their patrons for a long time, which they say violates a ton of laws and regulations that food joints have to abide by.

Now, as far as the judge's ruling on how this is gonna shake out ... he signed off on parts of the lawsuit proceeding, but not others. Hizzoner says Burger King will NOT have to answer to the claims pertaining to their online/TV ads -- which the plaintiffs claimed were a big part of their alleged scheme ... nor will BK have to combat the consumer-protection law claims.

Those specific parts of the suit were tossed, at Burger King's request, but other parts of the lawsuit -- which BK also wanted dismissed -- have been given the green light to proceed ... which is bad news for His Royal Fry-ness.

The remaining claims that'll be brought before a jury are big ones ... breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. Now, if you're wondering how that works (since the judge nixed the TV/online ads as part of the equation) ... remember, there's still print ads in the mix -- specifically, Burger King's in-restaurant menu photos of the Whopper, which these folks claim were also super-sized and a major part of BK's campaign.

An important piece of American history is hitting the auction block ... George Washington's letter setting the stage for future presidents and the country, and it's expected to fetch 7 figures!!!

Washington wrote and signed the letter in March 1789 at his Mount Vernon estate, just a few weeks before he took the oath of office to become America's first President. In the correspondence with a Naval officer in Philadelphia, GW vows to "make justice and public good my sole objects" during his presidency.

This literal national treasure is going up for sale through the good folks over at Gotta Have Rock and Roll ... and the auction house tells us it's expecting the winning bid to be at least $1 million.

The auction goes live today and ends September 22 ... and someone's gonna drop a lot of dead presidents on this artifact.

Nick Carter is pushing back against a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her on his yacht when she was 15 years old ... he says her lawsuit is full of false allegations.

The Backstreet Boys singer is being sued by a woman who says Nick sexually assaulted her multiple times back in 2003, when she was 15 and he was 23 -- she claims Nick forced himself on her aboard a yacht, and on a bus after plying her with alcohol.

But Nick is vehemently denying it happened, claiming the lawsuit is full of BS.

This accuser has filed her lawsuit anonymously, and she's now the third woman suing Carter for sexual assault.

Carter's lawyer, Dale Hayes Jr., tells TMZ ... when the woman made her allegations against Nick 2 decades ago, authorities investigated her claims and found no merit to move forward with charges.

Nick's lawyer says the accuser is simply "repeating the same false allegations in a new legal complaint" but he says that "doesn’t make them any more true."

As we first reported, Nick is also being sued by a woman named Shannon Ruth, who filed a lawsuit in December claiming he sexually assaulted her after a concert in 2001, when she was underage ... but he says he has witnesses who will testify Ruth is lying.

Singer Melissa Schuman is also suing Nick over an alleged 2002 sexual assault. He denies her allegations, as well.

Nebraska football player Arik Gilbert was arrested early Tuesday morning after cops say he forced his way into a liquor store and burglarized the place for over $1,600 worth of merchandise, before being caught red-handed ... and the entire crime appears to have been captured on video.

21-year-old Gilbert, a former 5-star recruit who previously played for LSU and Georgia, was arrested outside SJ’s Liquor & Vape in Lincoln, NE around 2 AM this morning ... before being booked into the county jail on a burglary charge.

Gilbert was allegedly carrying various vape materials, lighters, and other stolen merch totaling $1,672, according to law enforcement.

TMZ Sports has obtained a photo of the alleged stolen items … showing an array of vapes and other materials.

Surveillance video captured the crime ... and a man said to be the 6'5", 275 lb. football star was seen throwing a chunk of cement through a door to gain access to the building. Once inside, he kicked a second door down, gaining access to SJ's shop.

The shirtless man, who covered his face, was then seen rummaging through the shop for several minutes.

While inside, police received a call for a possible break-in, and they rushed to the scene.

To his surprise, at least 8 police officers were waiting outside when he began exiting the shop. Gilbert threw down his bags, and jumped back with his hands up, startled, before being arrested without incident.

We spoke to the people at SJ's who tell us they've reopened the shop and are operating business as usual.

Jay-Z is back on his social media grind, but he's sticking to his pattern of only returning when he's got product to push ... this time it's his new feature film.

The elusive rap legend rebooted his account on Tuesday, revealing the official trailer for "The Book of Clarence" ... the upcoming theatrical release he produced, starring LaKeith Stanfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, Teyana Taylor and others.

Jay made a blip on IG back in November 2021 to promote the movie "The Harder They Fall" ... and then promptly fell back into social media obscurity. But, there's a chance he might stick around this time.

The 'BoC' trailer promises new music from Jay and director Jeymes Samuel ... which could range from a couple of tracks like he supplied for the 'THTF' soundtrack, or even a full-blown album like he did with the 2007 Denzel Washington film "American Gangster."

If he really wants the film to sell, he'll do a TikTok. C'mon, you know Jay on TikTok would be a vibe!!!

Erika's attorney, Evan Borges, tells TMZ, "It seems calculated that Plaintiff timed this lawsuit to coincide with the rave reviews of Erika's Las Vegas residency opening. Plaintiff's claims against Erika are entirely without merit. Independent federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office made the decision to charge plaintiff with crimes, no one else. The notion that Erika controlled the U.S. Government, or for that matter a Fortune 100 company such as American Express, is fantasy."

When reached for comment on the lawsuit, Robert Savage told us, "I am restricted by a non-disclosure when I retired from the U.S. Secret Service to discuss casework during my tenure without their approval, so I would respectfully redirect your questions pertaining to the lawsuit to the USSS Office of Chief Counsel and U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California."

He also pointed us to an interview he gave the L.A. Times months ago -- and provided us with his Q&A -- when he had USSS approval to answer questions. We've included several of those responses.

Erika Jayne used Secret Service agents and American Express to extort money from a Hollywood designer, ruining his life and career in the process ... so says a new lawsuit.

The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star and two Secret Service agents are among those being sued by Chris Psaila, who claims Erika corrupted the agents and had them prosecute him over her claims that his costume company fraudulently charged her over $800,000.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Psaila claims Erika gave him and his store, Marco Marco, permission to charge her card for costumes and services he designed, created and provided for her performances ... and he says Erika's estranged husband, Tom Girardi, was the account holder and she was an authorized user.

Psaila claims he started working with Erika in 2014 and everything was kosher until she falsely claimed Psaila had racked up $800k to $900k in fraudulent charges on her credit card from 2015 to 2016.

Psaila insists Erika got every piece of clothing and services from these charges.

In the docs, he claims Erika and Tom weaponized the Secret Service to maliciously prosecute him ... believing the former couple bribed agent Robert Savage, then the head of Secret Service's Los Angeles office, to criminally investigate Psaila and ultimately charge him with crimes.

Psaila also claims AMEX accepted Erika's false statements of unauthorized charges and refunded Erika and Tom over $787k without giving the designer an opportunity to dispute her claims ... and he says AMEX told the Secret Service Erika was a victim of his fraud.

In his suit, Psaila claims Tom and Savage had a cushy relationship ... and he says Savage had his own "history of falsely billing for advance Presidential location scouting trips" that eventually forced him out of the Secret Service.

Psaila claims Tom bribed Savage to investigate him by agreeing to represent Savage in a lawsuit against Volkswagen, while also promising to pay Savage $100k when the investigation in Psaila started.

The designer says Tom and Savage's relationship was not disclosed when he was facing prosecution and says the criminal case against him was ultimately dismissed nearly 5 years after it started ... but he says he suffered extreme emotional distress, financial harm to his business, plus extreme emotional, psychological, and physical injuries as a result of the ordeal.

Psaila is going after Erika, AMEX, Savage and others for at least $18.2 million.

A rep for AMEX tells TMZ ... "In late 2016, federal law enforcement contacted American Express regarding its investigation into fraud by Mr. Psaila. While it is our policy to not comment on the specific activity on an individual Card Member’s accounts, we followed our regular processes and procedures throughout this investigation as we dealt with law enforcement. We did not initiate the investigation, nor did we proactively contact law enforcement, and the information law enforcement requested from us was typical in fraud investigations. We did not play any role in the criminal investigation of Mr. Psaila or his business other than responding to inquiries from law enforcement."

We reached out to Erika ... so far no word back.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann might be in the middle of yet ANOTHER divorce, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her hand and listening to what she's got to say.

The ex-'RHOA' star and her daughter, Brielle Biermann landed at LAX Monday and were asked all about Kim's pending case -- after Kroy recently re-filed divorce docs.

Check this out, 'cause it's interesting -- when KZ is asked if she and Kroy are truly dunzo -- she makes sure to flash her wedding band, which Brielle explicitly points out as still "on."

Kim says she already knew Kroy was going to file again, but indicates she's not really worried about it ... and that, perhaps, he'll pull the docs.

The photog presses Kim on some underlying issues that seem to be affecting her marriage -- like finances, for instance -- and the matriarch says those sorts of weigh on all matrimonies.

Brielle's also got some financial issues of her own -- TMZ was first to report she's on the wrong end of a lawsuit from a credit card company -- but she says that's been handled.

One last thing that stands out in the chat ... Brielle pitches a potential new Bravo show that she thinks could benefit all the 'Real Housewives' kids -- and if Andy Cohen was receptive to it in a recent meeting Kim says they had ... she could be back on reality TV one day.

Lots to digest with this one -- we'll see how it all shakes out, but Kim sounds optimistic.

Bob Barker was still a big TV man during his final chapter, and now that he's gone -- his legacy lives on in a massive donation to 501(c)(3)s ... TMZ has learned.

The "Price is Right" host's longtime rep, Roger Neal, tells us Bob spent quite a bit of time checking out the tube in his last days of life ... including a lot of reruns of "Two and a Half Men" -- which, to people around him, reminded them Bob still had his sense of humor.

We're told Bob would also check out new episodes of his old show every now and then, and always thought Drew Carey had done well to carry on the torch after his retirement.

Now, as for what's going to happen to Bob's estate in the wake of his passing ... we're told a majority of it is going to be divvied up and donated to a number of causes he was passionate about, especially as it pertains to animals and vets.

Neal says a bulk of Bob's assets will be dispersed among over 40 different animal rights orgs and military nonprofits -- including the DonkeyLand Rescue in Riverside, CA, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ... as well as a bird conservatory.

Some of the estate's assets are also going toward the United Activists for Animal Rights charity -- which BB's girlfriend, Nancy, leads as President. We're told she did well taking care of him over the past year ... making sure he was attended to round-the-clock.

Neal says Bob left Nancy in charge of pretty much everything -- noting he enjoyed life and lived in the moment. Bob was 99.

Elvis Presley's gun collection is in demand ... 'cause someone dropped six figures on one of his revolvers, with the final bid more than doubling what it was expected to fetch at auction.

The late singer's Smith & Wesson Model 53 double-action revolver was up for sale through Rock Island Auction Company, and they tell us the winning bid came in at $199,750.

Elvis received the gun as a gift in November 1976, just 9 months before he died, and it's loaded with custom features marking the Bicentennial.

The revolver is customized with five-pointed stars and a bald eagle holding a Betsy Ross American flag, plus the Liberty Bell ... and "1776-1976" is inscribed in gold near the muzzle.

As we first reported, Elvis' gun was expected to fetch at least $60,000 at auction ... but a bidding war broke out.

Someone's trophy case just got a whole lot cooler -- Roberto Clemente's Silver Bat award from 1964 just sold at auction ... and it came with a hefty price tag!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the awesome trophy given to the Pirates legend for having the highest batting average in the National League during his tenth season has a new owner after being made available at SCP Auctions this month.

Bidding closed over the weekend ... and the final number came out to be $307,500.

It was quite the popular item, as the bids skyrocketed over the final days of the auction.

As we previously reported, the Silver Bat -- inscribed with "BATTING CHAMPION 1964 NATIONAL LEAGUE B.A. .339" -- was modeled after Clemente's 34-inch Louisville Slugger bat ... and is made of 55.6 Troy ounces of silver.

Even though the award is more than half a century old, it's in great condition and only has a few blemishes.

A guy suing Future for copyright infringement just had his lawsuit kicked to the curb by a judge -- who apparently knows her hip hop ... 'cause her opinion is full of classic references.

Judge Martha Pacold dismissed a suit filed by a man named DaQuan Robinson -- who sued Future 2 years ago for what he claimed was a lot of lifted elements from the guy's song "When I Think About It" ... which he says mirrored his own track, "When U Think About It."

Robinson alleged he'd emailed a draft of the song to Future's team before the official version came out -- and claims Future's track ended up being eerily similar to his original tune.

Specifically, Robinson claimed Future's song touched on a lot of the same content his track did -- namely, guns, money and jewelry -- but Judge Pacold cut him off there ... saying those general themes are not protected by copyright -- and are omnipresent throughout rap.

To make her point, she cites countless examples where these topics are addressed ... such as Biggie's 'Machine Gun Funk,' 'Wu-Tang Clan's 'C.R.E.A.M.' and even Kanye's 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone.' In all of those, she says, these references exist ... and therefore, they're part of the larger hip hop well of content that no one person can claim copyright to in a given song.

The judge didn't even get to the point about Robinson claiming he sent his tune to Future beforehand because the court found the two songs weren't substantially similar enough for it to matter anyway.

There's more musical shout-outs beyond this, too -- including a nod to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Neil Young, that is). Specifically, the judge mentions their song "Our House" to dispute Robinson's claim about Future's alleged misuse of a "core lyric" that he thought was the same as his.

Basically, she says core lyrics are yet another basic element of songwriting ... and not subject to copyright protection in and of itself.

Bottom line ... there isn't enough there to claim copyright infringement -- and the judge ruled in Future's favor -- tossing Robinson's claim with prejudice. He can appeal if he wants to.

Sam Asghari has his sights set on his acting career in the midst of his divorce from Britney Spears ... and we're told his family's been a pretty big priority, too, in recent weeks.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Sam, who's a SAG-AFTRA member, is planning on continuing with acting gigs when the actors' strike comes to an end. In addition to playing characters, we're told he's interested in hosting gigs.

We're told he wasn't in the middle of any projects before the strike, and obviously has nothing in the pipeline as Hollywood remains shut down, but that's where his head's at.

BTW, Sam's got no plans to get back into the personal training game -- something he'd been doing at L.A.'s Royal Personal Training when he and Britney started dating.

Apart from work, sources say Sam's been focused on spending time with his family ... mainly taking care of his mom in L.A. She came home from the hospital a few weeks ago and needs the help. She was injured in an accident but is on the mend.

Sam filed for divorce from Brit last week after getting into a massive fight over claims she cheated on him.

There's been a lot going on since the relationship was called off -- they've cut off communications, and agreed on custody of their 5 dogs ... but the big, unsettled issue is whether Sam will challenge their prenup.

For more Britney news be sure to check out our new podcast, "Fake Or Fact: Britney Spears," available on all podcast platforms!