Money

The financial institution appointed by the judge to become co-conservator of Britney Spears' estate is bowing out before it even gets started ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Bessemer Trust has decided it does not want to get involved because it's become gun-shy over all the controversy surrounding the conservatorship.

As one source put it ... Bessemer feels the circumstances surrounding Britney's conservatorship have become a "hornet's nest" ... so it's bailing.

Our sources say Bessemer doesn't want to deal with Jamie Spears, but there's more. It has issues, we're told, with Britney's lawyer, Sam Ingham, along with all of the public outcry over her case ... especially after Britney's courtroom cry for help last week.

That means, at least for now, Britney's dad will remain sole conservator of her estate.

We broke the story ... the judge denied attorney Ingham's request to suspend Jamie from estate conservatorship duties back in November. However, the judge did approve Bessemer being made co-conservator along with Jamie, but it still hasn't taken effect yet because Ingham waited until a few days ago to file the necessary documents for that to happen.

It'll all be a moot point now ... because Bessemer's getting out.

Bill Cosby is huddling with his legal team Thursday, and a potential lawsuit against Montgomery County will be the hot topic on the table.

Sources close to Cosby tell TMZ ... the comedian and his wife, Camille, are angry he's been incarcerated for the last 3 years, and they're exploring his options for legal recourse, including potentially suing the county in Pennsylvania where he was tried.

We're told Cosby and his lawyers are looking into a possible lawsuit for abuse of process, and that's just one of several potential options they're discussing.

Legally speaking ... abuse of process refers to the improper use of a civil or criminal legal process for an unintended, malicious, or perverse reason. In other words, it means Cosby could argue the prosecutor deliberately misused the criminal justice process to prosecute him, despite the fact it meant breaking a promise to Cosby from the previous District Attorney.

As we reported, Cosby was released from prison Wednesday after Pennsylvania's Supreme Court overturned his conviction ... in part because it ruled he should have never been criminally prosecuted based on the agreement he made with former Montgomery County D.A. Bruce Castor.

College football legend Reggie Bush says he's fighting like hell to get his Heisman trophy back ... but claims both the NCAA and the Heisman Trust are giving him the stiff arm.

Bush forfeited his 2005 trophy back in 2010 when the NCAA ruled the running back had received improper benefits while at USC ... which vacated his stellar junior season with the Trojans.

Now -- on the day NCAA athletes have been given the green light to make money off their name, image and likeness -- Bush addressed his efforts to have his beloved trophy returned ... and says he's been getting the cold shoulder.

"Over the last few months, on multiple occasions, my team and I have reached out to both the NCAA and The Heisman Trust in regard to the reinstatement of my college records and the return of my Heisman," Bush said Thursday.

"We left multiple messages for Michael Comerford, the President of the Heisman Trust but instead received a call from Rob Whalen, the Executive Director, who stated that Mr. Comerford would not be calling us back and that, in any event, they could not help us."

Bush said he also called the NCAA over the matter, but received "no help or got no response at all."

There has been a massive campaign to get Bush his trophy back -- fellow Heisman winner Johnny Manziel voiced his support on Wednesday with a tweet.

"Give Reggie Bush his Heisman back while we’re at it," Johnny said.

Ex-NFL receiver Torrey Smith added ... "Just like America needs to right it’s wrongs with Marijuana convictions, the NCAA needs to make things right with @ReggieBush!"

Reggie stated his case on the matter ... saying, "It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman trophy 'solely' due to my hard work and dedication on the football field and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated."

Bill Cosby's surprising release from prison means he's free to live his life again, and -- according to one expert in the booking industry -- free to cash in on showing his face in public again.

TMZ spoke with a major player in the booking biz who tells us ... even though the market will be very limited for Cosby, he believes the disgraced comedian will eventually be able to bank $10-15k per public appearance -- and possibly up to $20k for speaking engagements.

Our booking source points to O.J. Simpson as a precedent, saying that despite what he was accused of and found liable for -- killing 2 people -- he still made cash for events afterward. Same will be true for Cosby, according to our source.

Of course, it's not likely to happen right away, but the feeling is there will be a certain demographic of people -- likely older fans who loved "The Cosby Show" -- who are either willing to forgive, or truly believed Cosby was innocent all along.

We're told these people, along with organizations sympathetic to the man once known as "America's Dad," might be willing to shell out dough to see and hear from him.

Not everyone's enthusiastic, though -- Darren Prince of Prince Marketing Group tells us there's no way he'd book someone like Cosby, for any reason. He tells us the guy is just off-limits ... he needs to take some serious steps toward retribution and rehabbing his image ... things he's refused to do, up to this point.

As we reported ... Cosby was released from prison Wednesday after Pennsylvania's high court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Michael Irvin says someone stole one of his favorite pieces of jewelry -- a diamond necklace with TONS of sentimental value -- and he's mortified that it's now gone.

The Dallas Cowboys legend lamented losing the piece to his social media followers on Wednesday ... saying the ice was jacked by a thief in Miami last weekend.

Irvin says when he was returning to his hotel from a Univ. of Miami football event ... he set his black Louie Vuitton bag down -- which had his necklace in it -- to interact with some fans.

Irvin claims while he was sidetracked ... a man grabbed the bag and bolted.

Michael pleaded with his followers to help find the scumbag and return his stuff, but the former NFL superstar seemed to believe Wednesday there was no hope of getting it back.

And, Irvin said he was straight-up depressed over it, because his chain was PRICELESS to him.

"I have to come out of this depression. So I am sharing with ALL," Irvin said. "This is my necklace that was in my bag. I designed it as a first down chain, holding an all diamond football, which is holding an all diamond cross."

"On each end of the cross are diamonds I acquired at the birth of my children Myesha, Chelsea, Michael and Elijah. It was a piece I built over my life that represents. Faith, Family and Football and my own sentimental way of praying to GOD please always protect my babies."

Irvin added, "I am so hurt its gone."

College athletes will FINALLY be able to rake in money off their name, image and likeness ... with the NCAA making the groundbreaking decision Wednesday to suspend its current rules.

The NCAA's board of directors voted to implement an interim policy starting Thursday ... which will allow all incoming and current student-athletes to start cashing in on endorsement deals immediately.

NCAA president Mark Emmert released a statement on the decision ... saying, "This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities."

"With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level.

"The current environment -- both legal and legislative -- prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve."

The organization says the temporary policy will remain in place for all three divisions until new federal legislation or NCAA rules are adopted.

Players still will not be able to be paid as a direct result of their athletic performance ... but this now allows them to make money off opportunities like signing autographs, social media deals, advertisements and camps.

The decision comes right as several states were set to make it illegal to follow the NCAA's rules preventing student-athletes from these money-making opportunities.

Four months after James Franco settled his sexual misconduct lawsuit we're now learning the financial terms of the settlement ... and it cost him a couple million.

The amount was revealed in court docs made public Wednesday ... and it shows Franco, his production company Rabbit Bandini Productions, the film school he founded, Studio 4, and others will shell out $2,235,000 to settle the suit. A judge still needs to sign off on it.

If the settlement gets the green light ... 2 of Franco's former students -- Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who filed the class-action suit in October 2020 at the height of the #MeToo movement -- will get $670,500 and $223,500, respectively ... but will have to hand over a chunk of that to their attorneys.

The other students who joined the lawsuit will get a cut of the remaining $1.341 million ... again, less due to attorneys' fees and costs.

As we previously reported ... Franco, who opened the school in 2014 and has since been shut down, was accused by students of putting them in gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations.

The students claimed Franco pushed them into performing intimate and explicit sex scenes in an "orgy type setting" ... something they say went way beyond the pale of shooting such scenes.

Kelly Clarkson's about to have a new daytime TV slot ... and she's got a new home to go with it.

The talk show host and former "American Idol" winner just dropped $5.445 million on a beautiful, Colonial-style home in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles ... just minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood in the valley.

It seems Kelly's planting some deep roots in L.A. on the heels of the announcement that "The Kelly Clarkson Show" will take over the time slot currently held by Ellen DeGeneres after the 19th season of her show concludes.

Clarkson's new property purchase came just days before she finally unloaded her mega-mansion in Tennessee for $6.3 million. As we told you ... it had been on the market since 2017, and went through a couple of huge price slashes before she unloaded it.

She also currently has a mansion in Encino, CA -- just a few miles west from her new digs -- listed for $9 million ... so Kelly's been just as busy in real estate business as showbiz lately.

As for her new home in Toluca Lake ... it's 5,000-square-feet with 5-beds and 7-baths, including the guesthouse, and comes with a chef's kitchen, a rotunda-style breakfast nook and a fireplace. The outside has it all too -- swimming pool, spa, tennis court and gazebo.

Tyler, the Creator dropped a boatload o' cash ... for 2 tiny but shiny suitcases and one bellhop to carry 'em.

The rapper is celebrating the release of his new album "Call Me If You Get Lost" with a ridiculously expensive chain and pendant. The total cost ... a whopping $500k, but ya gotta see the extensive work that went into producing it.

The man behind the masterful work is celeb jeweler Alex Moss, who tells TMZ ... Tyler hit him up about 7 months ago to get started on the piece, and it took him 4 months just to find the colored diamonds for it.

We're told Tyler gave Alex a reference for what he wanted, and they tweaked the design together. You can see the pendant is the bellhop toting 2 suitcases.

As for the meaning behind it ... unclear, like a lot of things with Tyler. We're told the rapper didn't tell Alex much, as he wanted to keep it a mystery. He can check that box.

No mystery on the hefty price tag, though -- the piece has more than 186 carats in diamonds, 60 carats in sapphires and a whopping 23,515 stones were hand-set!!!

Hell, the suitcases even open and close.

Tyler, who is seen wearing the piece in his "JUGGERNAUT" music video, is known for rewarding himself in the most spectacular ways.

Soccer legend Mia Hamm is making history yet again ... her rookie card just set a record for the most expensive female sports card ever -- smashing the previous record!!

The 1992 Sports Illustrated for Kids rookie card -- graded a PERFECT 10 by PSA -- hit the auction block at Goldin Auctions a few weeks back ... and it's a thing of beauty.

Over the weekend, the card sold for $34,440!!!

The huge sales price makes this card the most expensive female card ever ... more than doubling the previous record -- a $16k Alex Morgan card.

It's not a surprise that Hamm's card made history ... she's a soccer icon.

Mia played forward from 1987 to 2004, winning 2 Olympic gold medals with the USA women's soccer team and is a 2-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion.

She was also the first female inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame (2013) and even has a building named after her at Nike headquarters.

Hamm also held the record for most international goals (158) by a woman -- or man!

UFC fighter Justin Jaynes bet his entire $25K fight purse on himself and LOST ... so, instant regret, right??

Nope ... 31-year-old JJ tells TMZ Sports he'd do it all over again -- and that's exactly what he wants to do.

"I really don’t have any regrets man. I live a high risk, high reward kind of lifestyle."

Of course, Justin famously gambled his fight check ... and ended up losing a 3-round split decision to 34-year-old Charles Rosa at UFC Vegas 30.

And now, he wants that cash back -- and he's willing to fight Rosa again.

"F*** it, let’s run it back, double or nothing," Jaynes says.

"I need to get my money back anyways man. It’s just one of those things, like I said I trained very, very, very hard. It was my motivation, there was a lot on the line going into this fight."

Even with the hit to his bank account (which sucked) ... Justin says he can still support his family -- and that's what really matters.

"It didn’t feel great, but it’s not going to put me in a position to where I can’t take care of myself," Jaynes says.

Several big names from "The Bachelor" franchise are catching flak for receiving money from the government's Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic ... but 2 of them, so far, are defending it.

If ya don't know ... the PPP loans were meant to aid small businesses and allow them to keep their workforce employed during the COVID crisis, and new public records revealed companies associated with 'Bachelor' stars like Tayshia Adams and Arie Luyendyk received loans in the past year in the amounts of $20,833 and $20,830 respectively.

The companies that actually received the PPP loans are interesting -- Tayshia named her company Tayshia Adams Media LLC ... and Arie's is called Instagram Husband LLC. Yeah, fans are having a field day with that one.

Another notable one is the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation, which received an $11,355 PPP loan. Dale Moss also applied for a $20k loan, but it doesn't look like that one has been disbursed yet.

Social media controversy about all this is picking up. The big question being ... why should these reality TV stars and influencers be granted PPP loans?

For her part, Tayshia insists her company's PPP loan was totally on the up and up.

Her rep tells TMZ ... "The primary purpose of the [PPP] Loan is to help business owners retain their existing employees and to create jobs for Americans who are financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a business owner, television and podcast host, and brand ambassador, Tayshia obtained a PPP Loan that enabled her to hire an employee, to whom she offers market-based pay and benefits."

We're told the employee Tayshia hired with the PPP money was previously laid off from a media company at the start of the pandemic.

The rep adds ... "Since exhausting the PPP Loan funds, but in light of the growing economy, Tayshia has committed to retaining her employee for the foreseeable future."

Likewise, Underwood's rep tells us ... "Colton's nonprofit filed for the PPP loan after their annual fundraising events were cancelled due to COVID. None of the PPP went directly to Colton. In fact, Colton has never received any form of payment from the foundation, all of the proceeds go directly to people living with cystic fibrosis."

Nevertheless ... the backlash online has begun. Even former 'Bachelor' Nick Viall is weighing in by saying the loans might be perfectly legit, legally speaking, but to him at least ... something seems "s**tty" about it.

Jamie Lynn Spears is breaking her silence about her sister's conservatorship battle, saying she fully supports Britney -- and she's offended Brit's fans might be thinking otherwise.

Jamie Lynn explained why she waited a bit to speak on Britney's court hearing last week, saying she didn't feel it was her place until Britney had the chance to publicly say everything she wanted.

Now, she's voicing her support clearly, saying she's always loved, adored and supported her big sister and is only concerned about her happiness.

Jamie Lynn also seemed to distance herself from the rest of her family -- specifically those involved in Britney's conservatorship -- by saying, "I've made a very conscious choice in my life to only participate in her life as her sister."

She adds that she's always had Britney's back, despite what folks online have speculated. JL seemed to reference Brit saying she wants to sue her whole family ... when she said, "I'm not my family -- I'm my own person. I'm speaking for myself. I'm so proud of her for using her voice."

Regarding the conservatorship ... Jamie Lynn claims she encouraged Britney to hire a new counsel years ago, and says if Britney wants to end the conservatorship ... she fully supports it.

As you know, Britney made it very clear last week during her court hearing that she wants out, and also wants to take legal action against her family. She specifically railed on her father, Jamie, and her management team for alleged mistreatment, torment, abuse of power and other disturbing claims.

The day after Britney spoke publicly about her conservatorship case, she hopped on a private jet with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, to Hawaii to get away from it all.

Tekashi 6ix9ine canceled his weekend show in Texas at the last minute, leaving fans in the dark about what happened ... and now he says it's because he was stiffed.

Tekashi tells TMZ ... he had a contract guaranteeing him $250,000 for a Sunday concert at the Humble Civic Center in Humble, TX, but he says he was only paid $70,000 in cash and didn't get the balance before the show ... which the contract required.

6ix9ine says he returned the $70k and got the hell outta Dodge ... never taking the stage.

Folks who were there tell us the venue opened the doors at 3 PM and fans waited around until 10 PM, when cops and security started forcing everyone to leave. We're told the venue didn't make any announcement about Tekashi before folks were booted.

Sounds like it was a big letdown for fans ... we're told some shelled out $500 for tickets, while others dropped $3,000 on VIP experiences.

In a matter of weeks, Richard Hutchins went from homeless to hosting his own art gallery show/auction in Beverly Hills ... and, pretty soon, he'll be coming to a theater near you.

Richard -- an artist who spent years living on the streets in L.A. after his art studio burned down -- joined "TMZ Live" on Monday alongside Charlie Rocket ... 2 Chainz's ex-manager who met Richard by chance on Easter Sunday in a grocery store parking lot.

The story's a rags-to-riches tale akin to the Golden Voice or "The Soloist" -- Charlie discovered Richard's an uber-talented artist, who in his heyday had been commissioned to do work for Muhammad Ali, Richard Pryor and Marvin Gaye, among others.

Richard had been down on his luck for years, but fast forward to last week ... when he was lauded as he strolled into his own gallery/auction featuring his work at the Sofitel. Around 500 people attended the shindig, including Damon Dash.

After Charlie got to know Richard, and his artistic skill, he helped set up Richard's art website so he can sell prints ... and Richard tells us he's hauled in more than $200k.

In fact, 2 Chainz was one of the first customers, and Steve Harvey also bought a painting for a cool $3,000.

So, what's next? Richard says he's already gotten an acting offer for a role as an artist. He also wants to give back now that he has the resources ... and tackle Skid Row.

Kanye West's legal team has a lot more work to do if they want to rid the online market of imitation Yeezys -- while Walmart halted sales on its site, hundreds more still exist on others.

West's Yeezy Foam RNNRs have taken the market by storm, so it's no surprise copycats tried to capitalize. However, as of Friday, Walmart had removed all the knockoffs from its online store.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye and Yeezy filed a lawsuit against the retail giant, claiming its $25 faux RNNRs had the potential to cost Ye "hundreds of millions" of dollars in sales of his $75 original design.

For its part, Walmart said the online listings were from a third party.

You'd think the lawsuit would scare away others, but we discovered hundreds of other listings on sites pushing what appear to be more wannabes. Friday, Etsy still remained a hotspot for them, with pairs running anywhere from $30-$60, one listing calls the shoes "Yeezy Inspired," but they look like exact copies.

We've reached out to Kanye's team to figure out if they have any plans to go after the remaining listings like they did Walmart. Nothing's been filed yet.