Money

Kroy Biermann is tired of petty swipes with his estranged wife, Kim Zolciak, amid their divorce, and he's making one urgent plea ... sign off on the sale of their home, STAT.

The ex-NFL star's attorney, Marlys A. Bergstrom, tells us ... Kim's recent on-camera suggestion that Kroy asking a court to let him put the Georgia mansion on the market was actually her idea is simply posturing ... and it's meaningless considering how dire things are.

Bergstrom says Kroy is over all the gamesmanship and simply wants what's in the best interest of everyone involved -- including their 4 children -- and that boils down to selling this house yesterday, collecting whatever equity they can and paying off a ton of debt.

Per KB's attorney, the family's deep in the hole right now -- well north of a million bucks -- and they're also on the verge of having their home foreclosed on for good ... despite Kroy's best efforts to sell personal items and make mortgage payments.

Unless they act soon, we're told, they'll be out on the streets ... with other bill collectors continuing to come after them. Bergstrom says the only way to rectify their financial situation in one fell swoop is to sell the house -- and Kroy is basically begging his wife to come to the table and sign a joint consent agreement that'll get this ball rolling.

Kroy has gone to court in the meantime since he says Kim has failed to meet him halfway -- requesting an emergency hearing to get permission from a judge directly -- but Bergstrom says all that is unnecessary if Kim just plays ball.

Bergstrom tells us Kroy isn't out to hurt Kim, nor does he want to one-up her -- right now, his only focus is protecting their children and helping the family move forward.

Bottom line ... Kroy wants to turn the page, but feels his wife has her head buried in the sand. While she's gallivanting in L.A. -- his lawyer says he's in Georgia trying to navigate their money nightmare ... and he needs her to come back to Earth to face the music.

Bill Maher is wondering why California's Governor is standing on the sidelines during Hollywood's economy-crushing labor disputes, and he's calling on Gavin Newsom to help hammer out a deal.

The 'Real Time' host joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked him about the strike that's put his, and every other TV host's, staffs out of work for months now. Bill says this should be Gov. Newsom's time to shine by getting both sides in a room to find a quicker path to ending the work stoppage.

He also pointed out the obvious -- showbiz is one of California's biggest industries, so Gov. Newsom absolutely has a vested interest in fixing it.

Now, Bill says he is supportive of the writers -- hell, he IS one, and says he's not shooting his show out of solidarity -- but he also tells us some of the union demands get under his skin ... and lays out exactly why.

The HBO host also has strong thoughts on what's going on at college campuses around the country ... explaining why he's not surprised Harvard was just ranked the worst school for free speech.

Bill says it's part of an ever-growing echo chamber of sorts, calling it an extension of what has been playing out at corporate media outlets for decades, but he's got some solutions.

As always, Bill is equal parts funny, practical and blunt, and he's got a lot to say before he heads out to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for a series of standup shows on Sept. 15-16 and Nov. 3-4.

La ex esposa de Kevin Costner, Christine Baumgartner, está en una racha perdedora, ya que acaba de ser condenada a pagar los honorarios del abogado de Kevin por algunas de sus travesuras.

Como ya informamos, el mes pasado la abogada de Kevin, la reina en divorcios, Laura Wasser, preguntó a Christine si entendía el acuerdo prematrimonial que firmó. Es una pregunta importante porque hay indicios de que Christine impugnará el acuerdo prematrimonial, y entenderlo antes de firmarlo es crucial.

Christine y sus abogados esencialmente dijeron que no entendían lo que significaba "entender".

Hubo MUCHAS idas y vueltas entre los abogados, y la factura de Kevin por intentar obtener una respuesta a la pregunta ascendió a 14.237,50 dólares.

El caso volvió este miércoles a los tribunales, cuando el juez determinó que Christine debe pagar una factura de más de 14.000 dólares a Kevin.

La resolución se produce días después de que Kevin ganara una gran victoria sobre la manutención de sus hijos. Christine pedía 248.000 dólares al mes, pero Kevin argumentó que la cantidad realista y adecuada era de unos 63.000 dólares al mes. El juez aprobó los 63.000 dólares.

Kevin Costner's estranged wife Christine Baumgartner is on a losing streak, because she's just been ordered to pay Kevin's attorney's fees over some shenanigans.

As we reported, last month Kevin's lawyer, disso queen Laura Wasser, asked Christine if she understood the Premarital Agreement she signed. It's a significant question because there are signs Christine will challenge the prenup, and understanding it before signing it is relevant.

Christine and her lawyers essentially said they didn't understand what "understand" meant.

There was A LOT of back-and-forth between lawyers, and Kevin's bill for trying to squeeze an answer to the question amounted to $14,237.50.

The case is back in court today, and the judge just ordered Christine to pay Kevin the $14k+ bill.

This comes days after Kevin won a huge victory over child support. Christine was asking for $248,000 a month, but Kevin argued the realistic and appropriate amount to pay was $63k a month. The judge signed off on the $63k.

Kanye West is launching a legal offensive against an IG page that he claims has been leaking his music ... a tactic that may eventually lead to learning the identity of the person behind alleged leaks.

According to new court docs, Kanye is suing the unknown individuals behind the Instagram account for @DaUnreleasedGod claiming they misappropriated his trade secrets ... in this case, by posting a bunch of Ye's unreleased music!!!

The complaint specifies Ye has no clue who's behind the IG page but believes whoever is behind the account worked with him in the past and signed a confidentiality agreement before being given access to the tracks ... and he believes the leaks violated those agreements.

He plans to amend the filing with the names of the people behind the account once he learns their identity.

Since March 2023, Ye claims he's seen 21 leaks of his music on @DaUnreleasedGod's IG and another 11 via the same Twitter handle ... with songs ranging from potential blockbusters with DJ Khaled and DaBaby to unreleased tracks from the "Donda" and "Jesus Is King" albums to reference tracks for Rihanna and will.I.am.

Last week, Ye was out in Ireland when he played Steve Lacy some new tunes but that was clearly on his own terms.

Tom Brady has a new venture post-NFL life -- but it's one that has absolutely nothing to do with football, or even sports ... as he's partnering up with a massive American airline. 🤔

Indeed, Delta announced a multi-year agreement Wednesday that they've struck with TB12 -- making him a new long-term strategic adviser for their company ... which will see him give their employees, their customers and their stakeholders a piece of his mind on a number of topics -- including general greatness, something that's right up his alley.

Here's how the CEO pitches this ... "Delta’s people are driven by their commitment to world-class performance, excellence and a desire to achieve best-in-class results. Bringing a leader like Tom onto the Delta team furthers our mission to connect the world while accelerating our drive to continuously improve for our colleagues, customers and communities."

Specifically, Delta says Brady will assist them in developing/advising on strategic training and "teamwork tools" for their more than 90,000 workers. He's also going to be the new face of Delta, it seems, when it comes to marketing for current and prospective ticket buyers.

And finally ... Delta says TB's going to get involved in their shared "communities," but are kinda vague on what exactly that means. In any case, they've landed a major whale here.

As for Tom himself, he's quoted as saying ... "I am grateful to be joining the Delta family, a company I have loved and respected for years," Brady said. "Growing up with a mother as a flight attendant, I have always admired the people that make seamless air transportation possible. Throughout my career, my teammates and I flew Delta countless times, spending hours traveling for some of the most important games of our lives, even celebrating Super Bowl wins on the plane."

He adds, "Those championship teams were built off of great leadership and a commitment to excellence, and Delta certainly shares those qualities. Now, alongside Ed and the Delta team, I look forward to playing my part to continue the company’s success."

No word on what the money looks like here, but ya gotta imagine Brady's making a fortune off of this ... as he seems committed for the long haul, and his services don't come cheap these days. Remember -- he signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with FOX Sports already. Plus, he's got tons of other sponsorships under his belt -- Hertz and so many more.

Perhaps LeBron James wasn't kidding when he said he'd play in Saudi Arabia if the bag was big enough ... 'cause the King was spotted in the country, just weeks after he made the comment on social media.

Bron was in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, earlier this week. The exact reason for the trip is unclear, but James was seen hanging out in a gymnasium with a banner that said "Welcome to Arabia" and "Ministry of Sport."

LeBron was invited to watch a match between Saudi prospects at the AZM Academy, according to an online report.

So, while Lakers fans shouldn't worry (for now, at least) ... it doesn't seem impossible that James could play in Saudi for a massive amount of money after his NBA career is over.

In July, the Lakers superstar used a Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump GIF to show how fast he'd go to the Middle Eastern company if he got Kylian Mbappe-type money (the French soccer superstar got a staggering $776 million offer to play for Al-Hilal, but turned the money down).

Many fans perceived LBJ's tweet as a joke, but ... maybe not.

LeBron's not alone. We talked to Giannis Antetokounmpo a few weeks ago about the same subject ... and the Milwaukee Bucks superstar told us he'd be down to suit up in Saudi if the cash was right.

Just James visiting the country will likely be enough to spark a debate ... considering Saudi Arabia's history of human rights violations.

Despite the controversy, Saudi Arabia, with their enormous wealth, has lured some of the world's biggest athletes to their country, including Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo. Golfers like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, among others, also bolted for Saudi.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are house hunting again ... and this time they're eyeing a pricey slice of paradise in Malibu, where a brand new mansion is going up.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent part of their holiday weekend touring an $8 million plot of land in the 'Bu.

Our sources say Meghan and Harry checked out an estate, that's almost 6 acres. There's already a guard house at the front of the property, plus a huge pool ... and the foundation is laid for a 10,000-square-foot main residence.

The property sits above PCH and overlooks Broad Beach, and it's super secluded and private -- there's a gate and a long driveway up to where the main house would sit -- and we're told that's part of the draw for Meghan and Harry.

Our sources say the asking price is $8 million ... plans for the main house have already been approved and a construction crew is in place. If Harry and Meghan buy the lot, they can assume the costs of construction, estimated at another $10 million.

Meghan and Harry currently live in a $14 million mansion in Montecito, which is pretty far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood ... and the Malibu property is about 13 miles from celeb hot spot Nobu, and less than an hour drive from L.A. and Beverly Hills.

Our sources say M&H are talking about selling their Montecito home and moving to Malibu full-time. It's close enough to Hollywood for them to do business, but far enough from Hollywood to give them security and privacy.

We did some digging and it appears Brendan Brown at Westside Estate Agency reps the property. We reached out to Brendan, so far no word back.

It doesn't matter what number Ezekiel Elliott is rocking on the field, 'cause he won't have to choose between digits off it -- the New England Patriots star just copped a diamond chain that reps both his old AND new look ... and we're told it's worth a whopping $260k!!

TMZ Sports has learned, Zeke wanted a new piece in honor of his new No. 15 with the Pats ... so he hit up celeb diamond setter Gabriel French for the job.

But, Elliott -- who inked a one-year, $3 million deal with the Pats this offseason -- isn't leaving his Cowboys career in the past ... 'cause the pendant's reverse side displays "21," the number he wore during his time in Dallas.

We're told the pendant was made with 70 carats of VVS emerald and brilliant cut diamonds ... and the Cuban chain consists of 70 carats of emerald and round cut diamonds.

Gabriel has worked with a ton of big names in the NFL over the years ... including Odell Beckham, Jr., Jalen Hurts, Amari Cooper and Aaron Donald.

Lamar Odom's keeping it in the family ... he hired his son and daughter to work for his substance abuse treatment company, and he treated them to a company getaway.

Sources close to Lamar tell TMZ ... he's focused on strengthening his bond with his kids, and that includes getting his son, LJ, and daughter, Destiny, jobs at Odom Recovery Group.

Lamar's son is a marketing consultant ... we're told he's basically been mirroring Lamar, learning the ins and outs of the company so he can be Lamar's backup when needed.

Meanwhile, Lamar's daughter is a client representative ... she's responsible for taking down patients' information and making sure they're all set up when they start their recovery journeys. We're told both kids even participated in a commercial for the company, which will air on Hulu in various locations.

In recognition of their hard work on the job, we're told Lamar took his newest employees on a little vacation in Orange County, spending a few nights at an oceanfront property in Newport Beach.

Not a bad work perk!!!

The job opportunities and company vacations are all part of Lamar's attempt to reconnect with his kids ... and we're also told they've all been living under the same roof since the end of May.

Lamar definitely needs the help at his company ... Odom Recovery Group keeps expanding, he's added 14 new rehab centers to his portfolio and it's all hands on deck at work, with his baby mama Liza also helping out on the job.

Ashley Tisdale is getting dragged into court over a car crash she allegedly caused ... but her team is calling BS.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a woman named Lina Gonzales is suing the actress for injuries she claims she suffered from the accident that occurred in September of last year. As a result of the crash, Lina alleges she's suffered wage loss, medical expenses ... and, interestingly, loss of love and protection -- now seeking damages from a judge.

Her attorney, Michael R. Parker, tells TMZ ... the accident went down as Lina was driving on Hollywood Blvd., waiting for her turn to make a left in the left turn lane. However, while waiting, he alleges Ashley changed lanes and collided with Lina's car.

According to Parker, it didn't end there ... he says Lina told him Ashley made a big fuss about the situation and even allegedly called her names.

Lina's attorney says the accident caused her severe neck and back injuries ... and to make matters worse, she's facing roughly $140k in medical expenses. Parker says he made a demand $600k to Tisdale ... but it was rejected, hence this new lawsuit.

Diddy chose to do the right thing over money -- evidenced in the fact that he turned down a fortune to make sure his former artists have control of their own music .. TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the media mogul and Bad Boy label honcho is making an unprecedented move in the music industry right now -- namely, handing over the publishing rights to several of his former BB acts ... and forsaking a lot of cash to do so.

Word of this started to percolate just a few days ago, when Cam'ron took to social media to announce that Ma$e had finally sealed the deal with Puff and secured his catalog for himself.

It sounds like that had been a long time coming, but what we're told is ... Ma$e is far from the only ex-Bad Boy artist to be receiving the rights to their music -- several others have recently signed deals with Diddy to do the exact same thing, including some huge names.

Our sources tell us that some of the other artists to have gotten a similar deal recently include ... Faith Evans, The Lox, 112, the Notorious B.I.G.'s estate, and others. BTW, Diddy is hooking up the writers who were working with him too ... they're getting a cut in all this.

Here's the kicker ... in opting to do this -- which we're told Diddy sees as the noble move -- he actually sacrificed quite a bit of dough, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Our sources say Diddy has been approached for Bad Boy's entire portfolio and was offered a king's ransom for it all ... but he turned that down and chose to go down this route instead.

Again, we're told the rationale for this boils down to wanting to revolutionize the industry with this to empower artists and to switch up the dynamic -- which has been a certain way for a long time. As part of his legacy, Diddy's hoping to enrich others in his community.

This is a big part of Diddy's identity lately -- as seen with other charitable efforts he's taken -- and now ... he's mirroring that same energy here as a label exec, choosing people over personal wealth. Our sources say he hopes others in the music biz will follow suit.

Diddy's empire is already as big as they come, so the fact he's breaking a small piece of it off and giving back to those who helped him build this is a pretty awesome thing to see.

Britney Spears has been steering clear of a bunch of different social media deals, TMZ has learned ... despite a potentially big payday for some Instagram posts.

We've learned several companies have contacted Britney's reps, asking if she'd promote their products online for a decent chunk of change.

We're told Britney has turned thumbs down on the offers, in part because she wasn't crazy about the companies. We're also told the companies wanted more than just a post ... they wanted a photo shoot and some video of her pitching the product.

There is big money to be made ... we're hearing Gwyneth Paltrow gets around $100k for a single Insta post promoting products, and Kim Kardashian has snagged around a million bucks for a single post.

Britney has around 42 million followers on social media, so she could make a killing, but for now, she's taking a hard pass.

Isaiah Hodgins' two kids will be in his heart, on his mind AND plastered to his feet this season ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the Giants receiver just copped some custom spikes to honor his two babies.

Cleat artist Joe Castro is the man behind the sweet pieces ... and he tells us the receiver actually reached out to him recently with the idea.

Castro took a bit to get the kids' faces painted on the Nike cleats just right ... but in the end, they came out great.

Featured on one of the shoes is Hodgins' son, who was born in 2020. On the other is Hodgins' newborn daughter.

Unclear when Hodgins will rock the blue-and-white spikes ... but it might just be next week, when NY opens its season against the Dallas Cowboys.

The New York wideout isn't the only NFL player who will rep his kids on his cleats this season ... Jackson also made customs for Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter -- who got his son and the mother of his child on his Nike cleats recently as well.

Hurricane Chris was found not guilty of 2nd-degree murder in March ... a grueling three-year battle, the "Ay Bay Bay" rapper says cost him over a million dollars in potential earnings.

It's a point of contention for Chris, who tells us the Shreveport police didn't properly investigate the scene back in June 2020 and he's now preparing to sue for all damages and lost wages.

A jury determined Chris acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Danzeria Farris Jr. at a Texaco station in their hometown ... but only, he claims, after a key investigator was nailed on the stand for failing to track the witnesses and identify the threat on Chris' life.

Chris says the situation left him remorseful, as he's actually friends with some of the deceased's family members. He's excited to resume his career ... which will include acting.

Chris says he had to miss out on auditions for hit TV shows such as "Snowfall" and 50 Cent's "BMF" ... roles he says his real-life experiences would've enabled him to slay.

On the music front, Chris is aiming for a comeback with a pair of mixtapes he plans on dropping before the year is up.

Beyoncé's second show in L.A. wasn't able to escape criticism from some fans who recently saw Taylor Swift at the same venue ... and who noticed a big difference in visibility. 👀

Here's the deal ... Bey has been performing at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood these past couple nights -- which is a go-to stop for big touring artists these days ... and one that TayTay also performed at just a few weeks ago to cap off her U.S. leg of the Eras Tour.

Folks who went to both SoFi concerts (Bey's and Taylor's, that is) are walking away with an interesting comparison ... namely, the monitor system. Based on some of these posts, it appears some felt Bey might've cut a few corners in the display ... whereas Taylor didn't.

What they're referring to is SoFi' 360-degree, circular videoboard -- which hangs suspended in the middle of the facility and which has massive LED screens all around it (inside and out) ... so that people in the nosebleeds can watch whatever action is going on down below.

Take a look at these videos people are posting juxtaposing the performances ... they're pointing out Taylor had that circular videoboard on the entire time, and that each screen was turned on as well. In Beyonce's case, it appears only one monitor on the videoboard was on ... and the rest of them were turned off. In other words, ticket buyers who were further out had to rely on just a couple of giant monitors on Beyonce's main stage.

Some of these Beyonce clips are a little cringeworthy ... 'cause people from certain angles legitimately couldn't witness much at all -- other than tiny specks down on the ground.

And yet, for the Taylor Swift crowd ... even the people who were furthest away seemed to have had a great view of the performance, all because that circular videoboard was turned on.

Now, there's been some speculation as to why this was the case for one and not the other ... and it all has to do with what some claim is SoFi actually charging artists/their touring companies to run and operate those monitors -- and, presumably, it isn't all that cheap.

We haven't been able to find any definitive evidence that SoFi even charges for this feature, or that the alleged cost is passed on to the artist -- but if that is the case, it's interesting.

The bigger picture here is that Swifties and Beyhivers continue to be at odds over which star is doing the touring thing better right now, but we won't weigh into all that. No thanks!

One last thing ... Chart Data claimed this past week that Beyonce's Renaissance tour had broken a record by becoming the highest-grossing tour by a solo female artist since Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, raking in $461 million so far. What that report fails to acknowledge, strangely, is that Taylor's Eras Tour has been projected to be in the billions.