Money

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 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!

'Barbie' has been beaten out for the second weekend in a row -- but not by much ... if anything, her competitors are barely squeaking by -- which says a lot about this juggernaut.

The box office numbers are in, and the latest big movie to hit theaters this weekend was "Gran Turismo" -- the film based on the video game, which chronicles the true story about how a gamer turned into a professional race car driver ... all from picking up a controller.

The movie -- starring Archie Madekwe, David Harbour and Orlando Bloom -- took first place, raking in only $17.3 million domestically ... this just ahead of 'Barbie's' $17.1 mil.

What that tells you ... people are still flocking to see Margot Robbie and co., even 5 weeks later. In other words, 'Barbie' has a lot of staying power -- and it continues to dominate.

Last week, WB's other release -- the superhero flick 'Blue Beetle' -- was the first to dethrone 'Barbie' from the top spot ... but, again, it did so by a hair. 'BB' made just $25 million or so during its debut weekend, only $4M-$5M more than 'Barbie' did that same weekend.

So, even then ... 'Barbie' still performed quite well, and that's likely to be the case for these next few weeks.

The immediate upcoming blockbusters that'll have a shot at 'Barbie' include ... Denzel in 'The Equalizer 3' (Sep. 1), 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' and 'The Nun II (Sep. 8) and finally ... 'A Haunting in Venice' (Sep. 15). After that, there'll be a lot more heavyweights heading into October ... which will almost certainly knock 'Barbie' down a few pegs in the rankings.

Bottom line here is pretty simple ... 'Barbie' has proven to be the smash hit of the year (thus far), and it's rolling in the dough and then some as it continues to attract ticket sales. No word when it'll be on streaming services -- at this rate, Warner shouldn't be in a rush.

Diddy opened up his wallet this weekend to bolster Black entrepreneurs and creatives while in the Atlanta area -- and he did it with a 7-figure amount that's sure to have a huge impact.

The media mogul was in town this weekend, first stopping off at an event called Invest Fest -- hosted by the Earn Your Leisure network, which offers a platform to up-and-coming Black creators and venture capitalists -- where Diddy was front and center fielding questions.

While there, he made a big announcement ... Diddy's launching an investment fund with EYL brass -- founders Rashad Bilal/Troy Millings -- to kick-start financial strategies immediately ... which will undoubtedly help their growing user base and sprawling roster of talent.

Diddy says, "I'm thrilled to join forces with Earn Your Leisure. We're going beyond discussing finances and taking action to demystify the world of investing for our community." He also said any profits from this will go toward his 3 charter schools on the East Coast.

Like we said, the fund is going to pay for educational tools and resources that teach young Black investors how to properly diversify their portfolios, and how to get their businesses off the ground ... so, a great cause. Diddy didn't stop there, though ... he donated another mil.

He also stopped off at the Cricket MEAC-SWAC Challenge Kickoff in the ATL, and followed through on a pledge he made last year ... donating a million bucks to Jackson State University Football, which will be doled out over the years in regular installments.

Royalty and Reality converged Saturday night when Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Meghan Markle's Mom, Doria Ragland, rubbed elbows!

The three hit up a splashy annual charity event -- This is About Humanity, which raises awareness and helps separated families at the border.

There were lots of others who hit up the event, including Eva Longoria, Jeff Bezos, and Lauren Sanchez.

The event was hosted by Henry Winkler and his daughter, Zoe Winkler Reinis, who co-founded the org back in 2018.

Taylor Swift's international popularity was pretty obvious Saturday night in Mexico ... not only did she fill the venue, there were hundreds of fans who sat outside on bleachers ... just to get an earful.

Taylor performed in Mexico City Saturday night -- she's had 4 shows in the country -- and it seems there wasn't a venue big enough to satisfy all the Swifties.

The next best thing to seeing Taylor is hearing her, and that they did. Hundreds of fans plopped down to hear the Eras concert. The bleachers were actually filled to capacity and people were turned away.

During the show, Taylor began the show with "Hola!" ... and encouraged her dancers to speak Spanish during the show.

She told the crowd ... "Welcome to the acoustic section! Can I say that, to everyone in the back, you are absolutely incredible. I've been watching you all night. You've been so into it."

Her surprise song last night -- "Cornelia Street."  That was a big deal, and Taylor knew it, telling the crowd, “You guys have been beyond patient and supportive, and it’s taken us this long to come here and play for you, So I wanted to give you a song tonight that a lot of fans have been requesting the whole tour.”

Beyoncé's most loyal fans are in full panic mode after she asked them to wear chrome to her upcoming concerts ... and we've learned that's prompted a mad scramble online for silver clothing.

We spoke with several businesses on Etsy, and they tell us concertgoers have been messaging online shops, desperately trying to find the perfect outfit to please their queen, and one of the biggest challenges is getting it shipped, STAT!

We're told chrome outfits are sellin' like hotcakes, with items as expensive as a $112 shirt already low in stock.

Sequin Fans, one of the hot-selling companies -- says it's seen a 200% sales increase in silver apparel and a 400% bump in overall traffic.

Radiancy Designs saw more than 4 times its usual traffic after Bey posted her request, with 80% of that coming from folks searching "Renaissance Tour"-related keywords.

In case ya missed it, Beyoncé raved about her concerts thus far, and asked fans to celebrate her upcoming birthday by wearing "your most fabulous silver fashions" as her world tour nears the end.