Money

Terrence Howard claims he's getting hustled because 20th Century Fox is using his likeness from "Hustle & Flow" to promote "Empire" ... so now he's suing the studio.

Terrence -- who played Lucious Lyon on all 6 seasons of "Empire" -- just filed a lawsuit claiming 20th Century Fox gave him the runaround when asked how it came up with the "Empire" logo ... since he never sat down for a photoshoot.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Terrence says he ultimately determined the image was taken from the "Hustle & Flow" scene where "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is being recorded in a studio.

According to the docs ... Terrence says "the still frame was selected, reversed (face looking left, not right), and subjected to CGI that simply distilled the cinematographer’s skilled capture of the head with vibrant light and shadow” to make the 'Empire' logo.

Terrence is upset because he says he would have gotten paid by Paramount -- the studio behind "Hustle & Flow" -- if 20th Century Fox got a proper license to use his image from the movie. He's suing for damages and wants an accounting of all the Empire merch using the logo.

LSU has banned Odell Beckham from its facilities for the next 2 years for his antics at the 2019 National Championship game ... when the NFL star handed out $2,000 in $100 bills to LSU players.

You remember the video ... Odell -- who played at LSU back in the day -- was going crazy on the field after LSU beat Clemson on Jan. 13, 2020 ... throwing around money like he didn't care.

Guess what ... LSU cared and so does the NCAA -- since it's against the rules to just hand out money to college players like that.

LSU believes the Odell money incident constitutes a Level III violation, according to SI.com.

Remember, LSU initially told the media Odell was handing out fake money that night -- but it turned out to be real.

In fact, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow later confirmed it was real cash during an episode of the Barstool Sports podcast, "Pardon My Take."

LSU says Odell is now banned from all LSU facilities for the next 2 years.

LSU has bigger problems ... they're also accused of several other NCAA violations, which could cost them scholarships and more.

The University has self-imposed penalties -- including the loss of 8 scholarships over the next 2 years -- in the hopes of getting a lighter punishment from the NCAA. We'll see if the strategy works.

The school released a statement Wednesday saying, "LSU has worked proactively and in cooperation with the NCAA to identify and self-report any violations that occurred within our football program."

It's rewarding to be funny as hell ... Russell Peters just unloaded his Hidden Hills crib for a boatload of money.

Russell's 8-bedroom, 9-bathroom crib in an exclusive guard-gated neighborhood in Hidden Hills just sold for $7.8 million. The 11,638-square-foot crib sits on 1.4 acres. Russell must be a huge car guy ... cause the property also features parking for 20+ vehicles!

The pics of the place are insane ... dual curved staircases in the grand entry, a 14-seat movie theater to screen his next standup special, plus a wet bar, billiard room, gym and sauna.

Basically, everything someone needs to throw ridiculous parties.

Dr. Dre's wife wants the rap mogul to put up or shut up about his so-called "ironclad prenup" as their divorce war rages on.

Nicole Young filed legal docs demanding Dre turn over the original version of the "ironclad prenup" upon which he's basing his whole divorce case. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says Dre's failed to produce the prenup even though the law is clear he must turn over all relevant financial, business and personal documents.

She says because Dre hasn't produced it ... she doesn't know which version of the alleged prenup he's referring to, and calls his refusal to share the info an "intentional abuse" of the divorce process.

Nicole says they got married long before they amassed the billion-dollar fortune that's now at stake -- and claims they stayed together for more than 24 years, despite Dre's "rampant and repeated marital misconduct." She doesn't offer any detail about the alleged "misconduct."

As we reported ... Nicole's already claimed she was pressured into signing the prenup back in 1996. Not to mention, she claims he tore up the prenup 2 years into the marriage, and said "he felt ashamed he had pressured me into signing." Nicole insists they've both said it was "null and void" ever since then.

Her new filing seems to be a challenge of sorts to Dre. Basically, since you acted like you tore it up 22 years ago, let me see what you're talking about now. For the record, Dre denies ever tearing it up.

Still, her request for the prenup does seem like a bit of gamesmanship ... because whoever her lawyer was when she signed the prenup should have copies.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje is tracking to be the biggest fight in UFC history ... bigger than any Conor McGregor fight ... so says Dana White.

We just spoke with the UFC honcho who tells us the data he's looked at shows massive interest in UFC 254 -- and he's expecting to break the 2.4 million PPV buys that Conor vs. Khabib did in 2018.

"Yeah, it's trending bigger than that right now," Dana says.

White says the data doesn't always hold up -- but right now, he's pretty confident.

For the record, 2.4 million buys at $65 a pop is $156 MILLION in PPV money alone ... so yeah, this is a big deal.

We also asked Dana about Khabib's comments to ESPN on Tuesday morning -- when the Dagestani said he's very interested in a fight with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre after he gets through Justin.

White says he's interested in exploring a possible deal -- but he's not making any promises.

"I'd be interested in talking about it. Just because that's what Khabib wants doesn't mean that fight can be made. I mean there's just so many things that have to come into play for that fight to happen."

As for Conor McGregor ... Dana tells us the contract to fight Dustin Poirier in January is NOT officially done at this point, but he's expecting it to happen soon.

"No, the deals not signed yet but in the history of dealing with Conor McGregor, Conor McGregor has never come out publicly and said 'I accept this fight' and not fought," White says ... "I expect the fight to go on."

Conor has said he wants the fight to take place at AT&T Stadium in Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones has said he's open to hosting a McGregor fight.

So, we asked Dana if there's a realistic chance that could happen.

White says the UFC has been trying to book a fight there for years but it just hasn't come to fruition -- and it definitely won't until Texas allows full capacity for fans.

Rich the Kid promised to promote Fashion Nova and mention the company in one of his tracks, but the clothing line says he took their money and ran ... according to a lawsuit.

Fashion Nova claims it struck a deal with Rich back in October 2018 for the rapper to exclusively promote the brand on social media, post pictures with its hashtags, and give the brand a shout-out in a song.

But, according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Rich went ghost after getting a $100k advance. Fashion Nova says RTK was supposed to perform the contracted duties between October 2018 and December 2018, but to this day he's yet to come through ... much less reimburse the company for that fat advance.

As a result ... Fashion Nova claims it's suffered $2.1 million in damages and is suing the rapper for breaching his contract and making false promises.

Some of the big screen's most iconic props from the past 40 years are going up for grabs ... but some will cost as much as a small indie film's budget.

The world-famous Prop Store -- which houses an incredible collection of movie memorabilia -- will hold its annual live auction in early December ... and the props are expected to fetch $5.6 MILLION or more.

Though more than 900 items will be on the block, it's the big-ticket stuff that should really rake in the cash ... like Obi-Wan Kenobi's Hero Lightsaber from 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,' which Ewan McGregor wielded. Prop House expects that to sell for up to $155,000.

Then there's the more eccentric stuff, like the Joker's purple fedora from "Batman" -- worn by Jack Nicholson -- expected to go between $26-38k ... or the mechanical alien from 1979's sci-fi classic "Alien," expected to fetch $52-78k.

Want more? How about Maverick's bomber jacket from "Top Gun" -- worn by Tom Cruise -- or Marty McFly's futuristic jacket from "Back to the Future Part II" donned by Michael J. Fox? Both are expected to sell for $15-21k.

Other notable props include the boots Julia Roberts wore in "Pretty Woman," Brad Pitt's red leather jacket from "Fight Club," and the necktie of another Joker -- Heath Ledger -- from "The Dark Knight."

The NFL is NOT dropping the hammer on the Tennessee Titans for alleged COVID-19 protocol violations that may have led to an outbreak ... but they may have to cough up some cash.

24 members of the Titans organization -- including 13 players -- have tested positive for coronavirus since Sept. 24. Tennessee has been hit harder by the pandemic than any other team in the NFL.

During the outbreak, there were reports that several players met at a local school for an unauthorized workout which allegedly violated the NFL's COVID policy.

The NFL investigated those allegations -- along with other allegations -- and have finally wrapped up their probe, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and others.

"NFL informed the Titans that their review now has concluded. Team was fully cooperative. Inspected facility and found it be in compliance," Schefter reported.

"There were incidents of people not wearing masks. There was insufficient communication regarding player workouts outside facility."

Aa for NFL punishment, people have speculated the NFL could go hard at the Titans to send a message to the rest of the league ... but Schefter says that's unlikely at this point.

"Individuals will not be disciplined, there is no discussion of forfeiture of draft picks. Titans’ organization will face a potential fine."

So, that's it -- ownership will likely cut a check ... and the team will continue the season as if nothing happened.

Michael Blackson's bummed the "Coming To America" sequel won't premiere on the big screen this holiday season ... but he thinks Amazon is making a savvy business move.

We got the comedian outside Catch in WeHo and our camera guy asked about Amazon Studios cutting a $125 million deal to stream "Coming 2 America."

Michael, who stars in the sequel, tells us he would prefer a big-screen premiere ... but he knows it just couldn't happen in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The movie's slated for its streaming debut the week before Christmas, and Michael says that's perfect timing ... theaters will likely remain shuttered, and folks will be home for the holidays and ready to watch something new.

Michael thinks Jeff Bezos' company just put Netflix on notice with this massive deal ... he says it's definitely going to bring extra eyeballs Amazon's way and it's all part of a bigger showdown with Netflix.

President Trump is in sunny California to raise some much-needed cash as he falls behind in the polls and in the money dept ... thus the trek to raise cash.

DT made his way to a private fundraiser in Newport Beach Sunday, rolling up to tech billionaire Palmer Luckey's home in his motorcade to bank on some generous donations ... with tickets for the event reportedly running between $2,800 to $150k.

The Beach Boys are providing entertainment for the shindig -- but not the OG band, it's just Mike Love and the touring group ... Brian Wilson and Al Jardine have disavowed the event. They say they hadn't even heard Mike was planning the gig until reading about it in the paper.

Sure enough, ML was spotted out there out as well ... looking groovy and ready to rock, sans his bandmates' approval.

Even crazier ... the sheer amount of fanboying Trump and co. spurred when they arrived. Check out how the guy who filmed this reacted when he spots POTUS in the backseat, if only for a second -- a complete starstruck freak-out. He claims DT waived at him.

Shreddin' the gnar is taking off during the pandemic ... TMZ Sports has learned surfing has EXPLODED while people try to have fun while social distancing!!!

We spoke with several of the country's biggest surf shops and board manufacturers this week ... and each one told us the demand has been so huge, they can't keep boards in stock!!

"We're back-ordered and can't keep up with the demand," a spokesperson for C-Shapes in Florida says. "The surfboard industry is on fire right now."

Added a rep for Chilli Surfboards in California, "We're selling four times the amount that we usually do."

It all makes sense ... surfing's outdoors. It's socially distant. It's cheap. And, it's straight-up great exercise!

Here's how spokespeople from some of the other big shops and manufacturers around the nation explained the demand to us this week:

JS Industries -- "More beginners entered the market than almost ever before due to surfing being one of the few activities deemed safe and accessible during COVID."

Channel Island Surfboards in CA -- "Surfing has doubled this year because it's a social distancing activity and it's free."

Surf Station in FL -- "There has been a definite increase. I can't even put a timeframe for board requests."

Eastern Lines Surf in NJ -- "It is definitely a higher demand compared to the last couple of years ... More people in the water than I've ever seen."

But, perhaps Hawaiian South Shore's rep in Honolulu put it to us best ... saying, "It's pretty nuts over here!"

You're looking at a pair of Colin Kaepernick's game-worn, blood-stained, and signed football gloves ... rocked by the star QB during the 49ers 2014 season.

Now, the rare piece of memorabilia can be yours ... 'cause Kap's gloves are up for auction -- and half of the proceeds are going to CK's "Know Your Rights Campaign."

Kaepernick -- who was 27-years-old at the time -- had one of his best seasons as a pro-signal-caller in 2014 ... racking up 3,369 passing yards and throwing 19 TDs.

It's unclear exactly which game Kap wore the gloves ... but the QB signed a letter of authenticity assuring the future buyer that they're 100% legit.

The Nike gloves -- currently on the block at Goldin Auctions -- had a starting bid of $200 ... but with 16 bids, the price has already soared past $650.

The auction doesn't end until early November.

Killer Mike's evoking the spirit of the historic Greenwood District with his new bank, which he says is going to help Black and Brown people take the power of their earnings back ... and set them up for future success.

The rapper's launching a digital bank called Greenwood -- named after the Tulsa, Oklahoma business district known as Black Wall Street, where the 1921 race massacre occurred -- in an effort to rebuild its legacy in modern times.

Watch the clip, because he lays out examples of how Greenwood can help working-class people and others -- who have been shunned by traditional banks -- and turn them into business leaders for generations to come.

Not only is the Atlanta hip-hop star on a noble crusade for his people, but he strongly believes his bank model will be followed by larger institutions once they see its potential, and say what you will about capitalism ... Mike's all for it.

Greenwood began accepting applications for accounts last week and received tens of thousands of application within 24 hours, so things are definitely looking good for its January 2021 launch.

Along with promoting his digital bank, Killer Mike also shouted out one of his heroes, Ice Cube, on "TMZ Live" for his bravery and leadership regarding Cube's "Contract with Black America."

If you missed it ... the rapper's taking some heat for working with Trump's administration on a plan to pump $500 billion dollars into Black communities and improve access to jobs and education, with critics accusing him of being used by the President.

Although Chadwick Boseman knew for years he had terminal cancer, we now know he died without writing a will, but he made a key move months before his death to financially protect his wife.

The "Black Panther" star's widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, has filed probate docs, obtained by TMZ, in which she asks to be named administrator of Chadwick's estate. Taylor has to file the docs in probate court because he did not leave a will.

That seems odd considering Chadwick was diagnosed with colon cancer 4 years ago, and knew it was terminal. However, that also puts his marriage to Taylor, who he reportedly dated since 2015, in a new light ... and here's why.

They got engaged in late 2019, and reportedly tied the knot at some point in 2020. That's important because when a person dies without a will and without children, their surviving spouse inherits all the assets of the probate estate.

According to the docs, Taylor gets nearly $1 million in personal property and assets, but that's not a true reflection of Chadwick's wealth and success. Most likely the majority of his assets are held in separate private trusts.

In the docs, Taylor notes Chadwick is also survived by his 2 parents.

As you know, he was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and it progressed to stage IV as he silently battled through it. Chadwick died in his home surrounded by his wife and family.

Le'Veon Bell is a Chief.

The ex-NY Jets running back signed a 1-year deal with the defending Super Bowl champs, after being cut by Gang Green earlier this week.

You know the backstory ... the Jets suck. Bell was unhappy. The Jets decided to get him outta there before he became a bigger problem.

Bell was reportedly deciding between 3 teams -- the Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills ... and ultimately decided the best fit was in K.C.

The best part ... the Chiefs play the Jets in Week 8 -- so, that should be fun!

Bell tweeted about the move Thursday afternoon -- saying, "Kansas City, #ChiefsKingdom thank you for the opportunity. Let’s go!"

Bell should have an immediate impact on the Chiefs running game -- currently ranked 19th in the league with an average of 108 rushing yards per game.

The starting back is rookie sensation Clyde Edwards-Helaire -- who can ball -- but let's face it, he could probably use the help.

Question is ... can Bell reclaim his place as one of the top backs in the NFL? Or are his best days behind him?