Money

Here's one more thing to add to your "This Can't Be Happening 2020" f***-it list -- folks are sliding into DMs for some lovin' ... but not for booty calls, more so marry-me-buys.

It's true ... with pretty much all of us being quarantined and hesitant and/or prohibited from going into shops these days, love birds are starting to flock to the digital space to find their engagement rings -- especially on IG and TikTok, which is proving to be oh so fruitful.

Take The Clear Cut, for example -- a huge company that's shifted to social media to facilitate sales, and we gotta say ... they're kinda genius, 'cause the numbers are jumping.

TCC's co-founder, Kyle Simon, tells TMZ that they've seen a whopping 330% increase in revenue over the past few months ... ever since they started posting their engagement ring selection on the 'Gram and TikTok, which we're told they get hit up about directly now.

Yes ... that means customers are literally sliding into their DMs to ask about specific items they've seen and wanna buy. From there, Simon and co. take them to the next phase.

Clear Cut has a huge product line, but we're told engagement rings specifically are flying off their digital shelves faster than they can stock 'em ... and that the most expensive ones they've agreed to sell via social media ran about $70k. On average, they're flipping $20k rocks.

Hey, nobody said getting married was cheap! Anyway, the point is ... CCJ is now doing 80% of their business on Instagram, and siphoning traffic from their TikTok account too. It's wild.

As for why this is happening -- especially the pricier splurges we're told they're experiencing -- Simon says people's budgets have changed ... no more forking out an arm and a leg for venues, honeymoons or anything else uber expensive (at least not for now) ... so more people are spending that extra dough on the ring they wanna put on someone's finger.

Win-win!!!

Former 'Bachelor' Nick Viall is adulting like a baller ... 'cause he just closed on his first house.

The 'Bachelor' from season 21 has just sealed the deal on this North Hollywood crib for a cool $1.72 million -- a slight deal 'cause it was listed at $1.75 mil. The 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom house is 2,412-square-feet of perfect space ... for a bachelor, quite frankly.

The house, remodeled in 2017, has a cool indoor/outdoor floor plan that features soaring 15-foot ceilings, walk-in closets and a spacious master bathroom.

In his backyard, he's got plenty of privacy, and infinity pool and a spa -- and he can recreate some 'Bachelor' scenes in the poolside cabana with surround sound and an ambient fire feature.

Nick's already boasting about his first palace ... saying "6 years ago I left a career I really liked for a chance to do something I loved. I did it at a point in my life where the expectation was to settle in and live the life I had. 6 years later I’m buying MY First HOUSE and doing what I love. It’s never too late to change things up and take a few risks."

You'll recall ... Nick proposed to Vanessa Grimaldi in the season 21 finale and they moved in together into a mid-rise luxury apartment in DTLA. The relationship ultimately fizzled, but he'll have no problems impressing a new lady in his new home.

Tim Stark -- known as one of the players in the exotic animal world on 'Tiger King' -- has been found in contempt of a court order in a strange case involving ... you guessed it, zoo animals.

According to legal docs ... the court ordered all of the animals belonging to Stark's Wildlife in Need organization in Indiana to be removed last week by the Indianapolis Zoological Society.

Problem is ... many of those animals have gone missing since the court's order, and now Stark's accused of masterminding the effort to stash them.

Stark "voiced his strong desire in open court to re-locate the animals in his own way" ... according to the judge's contempt order. As a result, the judge ordered him "immediately remanded to the custody of the Marion County Sheriff."

We reached out to the Sheriff for more details ... no word back so far.

Travis Scott's getting dinged for the rowdy gathering at a Mickey D's over his new $6 meal ... but he won't have to pay much more than that to get out of trouble.

Both the rapper and the McDonald's location in Downey, CA have been cited by the city over a whole slew of fans showing up at the fast-food joint last week for the launch of his new meal ... because they didn't have permits.

According to the tickets, obtained by TMZ, Travis failed to obtain an event permit for a crowd over 200 people before he showed up to greet fans who were waiting in line to try his Cactus Jack meal. He also allegedly failed to get a permit to film.

Both citations come with $100 fines, so he's gotta pony up $200 to Downey to square up ... same goes for McDonald's.

As we reported ... Travis showed up to celebrate the launch of his new meal and got mobbed by fans -- many who were maskless and not social distancing -- and had to run for cover.

A spokesperson for Downey tells us cops reported about 500 people in attendance, and the PD dispatched several units to make sure the large crowd stayed safe.

We're told there were no injuries and it doesn't seem like any arrests either, so the only McDamage is to Travis' and Ronald McDonald's wallet ... but it ain't much.

BTW -- Scott getting his very own McDonald's meal is a pretty big deal ... he's the first celeb to have one since Michael Jordan back in 1992.

Order the Cactus Jack $6 deal and you'll get a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mustard ... medium fries with BBQ sauce ... and a Sprite.

JLo and A-Rod are leaving Malibu, at least for now, because we've learned they just sold their beach house.

The house is right on the sand, smack dab in one of the best areas of the 'Bu. They sold the house for $6,775,000.

The house is 4,400 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. When they bought it in January 2019, they did some renovations. We believe they initially planned to live in the house, but they had a change of heart and decided to sell.

They bought the property for $6.6 mil so they pretty much broke even. It wasn't long after they bought it when we got photos of JLo outside the home with "Fixer Upper" star Joanna Gaines. Gaines was allegedly brought on to help renovate the home and get it ready to sell.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s famed King of NY crown just got passed on to another for an absurd price -- over half a million bucks, which is juuust a bit north of the OG street value.

It's true, the headpiece Biggie wore in his iconic final photoshoot from 1997 -- that's been duplicated in prints thousands of times over -- just got sold off in a Sotheby's auction ... ultimately going to a bidder who was willing to spend a whopping $594,750 for the thing.

Pretty badass, right?!? Well, maybe ... keep in mind, the crown is actually made of plastic -- and ended up costing the photog who first used it with Biggie a mere $6 off the street.

Do the math ... and that's just about a 10,000,000% markup in value. And, all because the crown was worn by B.I.G. -- plus, the fact it's gone on to become a fixture in pop culture.

And, get this -- the photog, Barron Claiborne, says the crown concept almost didn't happen ... and it's apparently because Diddy wasn't feeling it at the time, allegedly saying it was gonna make Biggie look like "Burger King." Big Poppa didn't care though ... he wore it anyway.

As they say, heavy is the head that wears the crown. And, even heavier is the price tag.

Joe Exotic just can't get Jeff Lowe off his tail ... Joe's former business partner's got beef over the 'Tiger King' star's new fashion line.

Here's the deal ... Joe has his nickname plastered all over his "REVENGE" fashion collection with Odaingerous streetwear ... but Jeff insists he's owed a cut of the profits.

Jeff's lawyer fired off a cease and desist letter to Odaingerous, obtained by TMZ, claiming he owns the trademark "Joe Exotic." Jeff's threatening a lawsuit if Odaingerous doesn't pull the merch or come to the bargaining table to work out a licensing deal with him.

But, sources close to Odaingerous tell TMZ ... the brand currently has a valid contract with Joe and his team related to the merch, and they claim Jeff's not the true owner of "Joe Exotic."

Jeff sees things much differently ... telling us he's owned and controlled intellectual property with regards to Joe Exotic and Tiger King since 2016. He also raises issue with the fact that Joe has started up a business while behind bars ... something he believes to be illegal.

As you know ... Joe's fashion line keeps selling out, whether it's boxer briefs or hoodies and t-shirts.

Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio and a bunch of other celebs are banning together to make Facebook stop and listen ... by putting its biggest attraction on ice for a bit.

A massive amount of stars are participating in a 24-hour Instagram freeze Wednesday in partnership with Stop Hate for Profit ... which is leading the charge. It's a pretty simple idea ... a one-day moratorium on posting ANYTHING on Instagram, to stick it to Mark Zuckerberg and co.

Their ultimate goal is to let FB, which owns IG, know people are sick of them not running a tighter ship on their platform ... which, as you may have heard, has become home to a lot of misinformation and unchecked hate speech -- all in the name of "fairness."

SHFP isn't buying that "fairness" argument, and neither are its famous supporters like Katy Perry, Jamie Foxx, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Naomi Campbell ... and many, many more.

Obviously, the campaign goes beyond just the A-listers ... so far, this message has been shared by over 200 million accounts across different media platforms ... and it's growing by the hour.

So, you can imagine -- IG will probably be pretty quiet come midnight. No stories, no hashtags, no foodie posts ... nothin', at least from those who are committed to this.

And, if you're wondering if SHFP has a specific list of demands, it does. Among the changes it would like to see happen ... removing FB groups promoting violence, militia groups, white supremacy, conspiracy theories and other harmful content; remove misinformation posts and slap people with fact checks ... just to name a few.

The real issue here for Facebook is about the First Amendment and how far is too far when it comes to censorship ... even of ideas with which you disagree.

Now, we know what you might be thinking ... if these celebs are really about this cause, why just "freeze" activity for a day? Why not a week?? Or ... forever?!?

Breonna Taylor’s family and legal team are giving praise to the City of Louisville for reaching a historic settlement in her wrongful death case, but they’re making it crystal clear their mission’s not changed … they want full justice for Breonna, and for the cops who killed her to be arrested and charged.

Attorney Ben Crump says the huge financial settlement has helped assure that Breonna’s death won’t be swept under the rug like so many black women before her, but equally important is the comprehensive police reform to be instituted to prevent future tragedies like Breonna’s.

Crump claims the $12 million settlement is the largest amount ever for a Black woman in a wrongful death case involving police, and may be the largest ever for a Black person in America. He attributes the victory to all the people who have been protesting and fighting for justice.

The civil rights attorney calls it a “landmark step on the journey to justice,” but he’s not backing down from his demand that KY Attorney General Daniel Cameron immediately brings charges against the cops who shot and killed her. Crump says he wants charges this week -- at the very least, a charge of second-degree manslaughter.

Crump says, “We want full justice, not just partial justice,” and is also calling for all charges to be dropped against nonviolent protesters who were arrested for demanding justice for Breonna.

Tamika Palmer, Breonna’s mother, echoed Crump's words by saying the settlement is just the beginning of getting full justice for her daughter … and it’s time to move forward with criminal charges.

Breonna’s mom says, “Her beautiful spirit and personality is working through all of us on the ground … please continue to say her name.”

Finally, Tamika Mallory from Until Freedom put the pressure on Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, challenging him to fire every police officer involved in Breonna’s death “on the spot” in the event that they aren’t charged by AG Cameron.

Earlier in the press conference, the Mayor listed off multiple facets of police reform to be implemented within the Louisville Metro PD as part of the settlement, including new programs to create positive community relations between citizens and cops … and social workers supporting police on certain calls.

Fischer also confirmed there will be major changes coming in how search warrants get approved, and new protocols for making sure cops are accountable for their actions, are properly investigated, and receive proper training. The mayor also confirmed the settlement amount of $12 million to Breonna’s estate.

News of the settlement in the case broke Tuesday morning, with reports the Louisville metro government had agreed to pay out millions of dollars and implement multiple reforms regarding law enforcement -- including a requirement that commanders approve all search warrants before they go to a judge.

As you know ... Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers on March 13 while they were executing a no-knock warrant.

Though no criminal charges have been brought against the cops who shot Breonna, her family sued the city in April.

Attorney Sam Aguilar has expressed frustration with the City's response to Breonna's case. As for the wrongful death settlement he says ... "the fact that they've been willing to sit down and talk significant reform was a step in the right direction and hopefully a turning point."

Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron has responded to public criticism about the investigation into the death of Breonna, saying it's ongoing and does not have to follow a specific timeline.

Cameron insists his office has "endeavored since day one to find the truth and pursue justice" and he's not working on a deadline ... but will make an announcement whenever the investigation concludes.

Wanna live like both Derek Jeter AND Tom Brady?!?! Hope ya got a small fortune to spend!

The New York Yankees legend is selling off his Tampa, FL palace just a few months after renting it out to Brady ... with a reported listing price of $29 MIL!!!

It seems it's the best time ever for DJ to unload the pad ... since TB12 moved in after signing with the Buccaneers, the place has gotten a TON of publicity -- with Brady himself even praising the hell out of it after working out in the backyard!

As for what the money gets you in addition to roaming the same bedrooms Brady and Jeter once slept in? It's A LOT.

The place is reportedly 30,875 square feet of awesome ... featuring 7 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms (8 full, 8 half), a saltwater lap pool and a pretty awesome bar.

The mansion also has its own gym, wine cellar AND movie theater ... and overlooks Hillsborough Bay!!!

"This is the most impressive home to ever hit the market in the Tampa Bay area," a real estate agent for the property told The New York Times.

Sadly, if ya wanna tour the place to buy it ... you will NOT run into Brady on campus -- the real estate agent says Tom and Derek worked out a rental agreement that allows Jeter to show off the place without bothering the future Hall of Famer.

Kanye West is on the attack -- against Universal, Sony and the NBA -- claiming they are enslaving Black people and he's trying to save them ... but somehow, Taylor Swift gets brought into the mix too.

Kanye's latest Twitter diatribe is focused on the music industry and the NBA, which he compares to "modern day slave ships." Ye seems to be encouraging rappers, singers and basketball players to free themselves from their business contracts and instead ... buy land and property, as suggested by his following tweets.

Though Kanye -- AKA "the new Moses" -- started tweeting late Monday night, he's continued Tuesday morning ... and that's where Taylor comes in.

Ye posted a long message from someone -- possibly a lawyer or business partner -- offering advice on how he can move forward in his relationship with Universal and Sony.

The person suggests they could follow in Swift's footsteps and either try to buy his masters or rerecord them ... but makes sure to point out Kanye's would probably be worth a lot more.

It's all moot though ... because Kanye says he's done with "any form of business" with the media giants.

Hollywood's rallying behind Habitat for Humanity L.A. ... with Amber Heard, Tina Knowles and Lance Bass leading the way to raise some good money for a great cause.

Amber, Tina and Lance are just some of the many celebs who are helping the org raise awareness and funds through a social media campaign dubbed #Hammertime. The funds will help build homes during the COVID-19 pandemic for families in the Hollywood community who can't afford it. Some of the dough will also be used as valuable resources for families in need.

Scores of other celebs, including Tori Spelling and Holly Robinson Peete, have signed up to help launch the social campaign. For every $25 or more donated to HFH L.A., donors can get a special steel hammer created by Redline Steel ... a veteran-owned, American-made hammer perfect for hammering away while building a new home.

Jo-An Turman, VP of entertainment partnerships at Habitat L.A., tells TMZ ... "these beautiful gifts will help the org continue to build hope, homes and address the need for affordable housing."

Leah McSweeney is the new star who became a fan favorite on Season 12 of "The Real Housewives of New York City," but she might be a one-and-done sensation ... unless Bravo ponies up.

Sources close to the show tell TMZ ... Leah is only being offered a "minuscule" pay raise for the upcoming 13th season of 'RHONY' -- which would be her second -- and she feels disrespected.

We're told the breakout 'Housewife' is holding out for an offer she feels is more deserving, considering what she brought to the table in her debut season ... and she won't return until she gets it. The clock is ticking, though -- the new season's supposed to start shooting in a week or 2.

Our sources say McSweeney made $3k per episode last season, which netted her about $60k, and she feels Bravo is trying to underpay her with a similar offer for Season 13.

Interestingly, the holdout comes on the heels of Leah updating her Instagram bio to show powerhouse talent agency, WME, is now repping her.

For those who don't know ... Leah got on the show through her relationship with Tinsley Mortimer, and fans felt she was a refreshing and exciting addition. Getting naked and throwing tiki torches around the pool at Ramona Singer's Hampton's crib will do that for ya!

A family of "Edward Scissorhands" fans scooped up the Boggs house featured in the movie, and instead of getting it at a slashed price ... they ponied up a little extra to seal the deal.

We broke the story ... the Florida home used for exterior and interior shots in the 1990 Tim Burton cult classic -- starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder -- went on the market last month for $224k, with new colors and renovations.

It didn't take long for it to generate interest from multiple buyers, but we're told one family with kids pushed the hardest and bought the house for $6,000 above asking price.

Turns out, the buyers love the movie and the husband grew up in the area. We're told he had watched some of 'Scissorhands' being shot in the Tampa suburban town of Lutz back when he was a kid.

Our sources say the famous movie home got about a dozen offers in its first week on the market, and officially closed last week.

The 1,432-square-foot residence comes with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, including a completely remodeled master bath. Along with the upgrades, it still boasts some original charming attributes from the film ... like the kitchen cabinets and countertops.

Britney Spears is furious with her father for trying to rehire a man she claims is "uniquely unsuited" to manage her estate, and who made a fortune off her for years.

Andrew Wallet served as co-conservator of Britney's estate from 2008 to 2019 and, according to the pop star, was paid millions of dollars for his service ... including a $100,000 payout in March 2019 when he quit the job.

In docs filed Monday, Britney says she's done performing, at least for now, and she needs to keep her expenses in check and make "difficult budgetary choices going forward." Britney says she believes her dad, Jamie, is ignoring her financial situation by attempting to bring Wallet back on board.

Britney says Wallet was paid nearly a half a million dollars a year for the last 5 years he worked for her, and feels he's just way too expensive.

As we've reported, Britney and Jamie have been in a nasty battle over her conservatorship -- she no longer wants him to be the sole conservator of her estate, and has suggested a financial institution, not Wallet, should join him as co-conservator.

TMZ broke the story ... in a hearing last month, the status of Britney's conservatorship remained unchanged. Our sources said one of the main issues is Britney's mental illness has allegedly made it difficult for her to make important life decisions ... and she's been in rough shape for the last year.

Chris Pratt and Anna Faris got divorced nearly 2 years ago but still co-owned the house they lived in as a married couple, until now ... 'cause the crib's finally been sold.

Chris and Anna finally sold the Hollywood Hills home for a cool $4.75 million ... nearly 2 years after putting it on the market for $5 million. They bought it for $3.3 million back in 2014.

The Mediterranean-style crib features 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms with a sweet open floor plan. Enjoy a little R&R in the pool/spa and steam room or really break out a sweat on your own tennis court or in the outdoor gym. Gotta love L.A. weather ... most of the time, anyway.

Either way, Chris and Anna have to be pretty stoked about putting this bad boy behind them. Chris is remarried his new wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger and their new bundle of joy. Anna's also enjoying her engagement to cinematographer Michael Barrett.

Chris and Anna's divorce was so amicable ... they agreed to live within a 5-mile radius of each other for the first 5 years after the divorce to help their son Jack's transition.