Money

Un informe afirmaba que 50 Cent estaba siendo considerado para reemplazar a Diddy como la cara de Ciroc... pero ahora sabemos que era mentira.

Fuentes relacionadas con la marca de vodka le dicen a TMZ que no hay nada de cierto en los rumores o afirmaciones de que 50 es el nombre que se baraja entre los ejecutivos de Ciroc. Todo esto a raíz de que Diddy y Ciroc (y su empresa matriz Diageo) irán por caminos separados a principios de este año.

Incluso un informe llega a citar a un trabajador anónimo de Ciroc que supuestamente le dijo a 50 Cent que él fue la elección inicial para dirigir la empresa el 2007, con esta persona anónima afirmando que Diddy se abalanzó y "robó el acuerdo".

A report claimed that 50 Cent was being eyed to replace Diddy as the face of Ciroc -- something we now know isn't the case ... despite the guy himself seemingly leaning into it.

Sources connected to the vodka brand tell TMZ there's no truth to rumors or claims that Fiddy is the top name getting kicked around among Ciroc executives -- this in the wake of Diddy and Ciroc (and its parent company Diageo) going their separate ways earlier this year.

One report even goes so far as to cite an anonymous Ciroc honcho who supposedly said 50 Cent was actually their initial choice to lead Ciroc way back in 2007 ... with this anonymous person going on to claim that Diddy swooped in and "stole the deal."

Michael Jackson's estate is calling BS on an upcoming auction of a "Thriller" jacket ... claiming the auction isn't making it clear MJ never actually wore it in the iconic music video.

In a letter fired off Tuesday to Gotta Have Rock and Roll, the auction house, the estate's attorney, Jonathan Steinsapir, declares -- in no uncertain terms -- the jacket up for sale wasn't on Michael's back at any point during production of the "Thriller" short film.

Jonathan writes there were only 2 genuine "Thriller" jackets worn in the film, and one was auctioned for nearly $2M over a decade ago -- which is 20 times more than the minimum bid GHRR is seeking for their jacket.

Kroy Biermann's divorce drama with Kim Zolciak is hitting a new rough patch -- he claims she's dragging her feet on handing over important financial docs, so now he's simply exposing her alleged spending himself.

TMZ has obtained Kroy's response to Kim's motion to compel handing over her financial docs, and he's suggesting her excuses -- about protecting the kids' privacy and fears he's leaking confidential info to the media -- are just smokescreens to keep her spending habits under wraps.

In Kroy's docs, he's attached a spreadsheet of those spending habits during their marriage -- and he claims she dropped more than $600K from 2016 to 2023 ... mostly on swanky gear from Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Ave, Chanel, Versace, and Agent Provocateur.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's highly anticipated rematch dominated the ratings on Monday ... 'cause ESPN says the Iowa vs. LSU women's Elite Eight contest generated 12.3 million viewers -- making it the most-watched women's game on record.

The sports network confirmed the massive numbers less than 24 hours after the Hawkeye beat the Tigers, 94-87 ... clinching their 2nd-straight trip to the Final Four.

Not only was it the most-viewed women's game -- ESPN added it was the biggest audience ever for a college basketball game on its platform.

Women's hoops has continuously risen in popularity ... as the Sweet Sixteen round broke a record with 2.4 million views -- a 96% increase!!

The overall women's tournament has also seen a huge spike ... with an average of 1.1 million viewers.

Of course, hats off to stars like Clark, Reese, Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins, Flau'jae Johnson and Kamilla Cardoso ... who have undoubtedly helped bring in new eyeballs this season.

Their influence has also resulted in NIL deals ... as well as a $5 million offer for Clark to join Ice Cube's Big3 league.

Joyner Lucas is looking back at his stint on a major record label with deep regret ... he says his experience was mostly clouded with empty promises!!!

While venting on Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion," Joyner and his longtime manager/business partner Drew recalled the time they were courted by Atlantic Records ahead of signing in 2016.

They also claim it took them forever to get paid -- money falling slowly like confetti isn't exactly worth celebrating!!!

Joyner admits he was beyond geeked when he signed with Atlantic, but only released one project with the label, and then bounced a few years later.

He's now calling Atlantic's recruitment a big 'ol sham ... Joyner and Drew both claim the label used love-bombing tactics to trick him into inking the contract.

Joyner says Atlantic execs told them it would be easy to get some of the label's biggest stars -- such as Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars -- in the studio, but, of course, it never happened!!!

Joyner's nabbed some blockbuster collabs throughout his career ... folks like Eminem, J. Cole and Chris Brown. Even Jelly Roll appears on his newest album "Not Now I'm Busy," but none of those guys are signed to Atlantic.

Jake Gyllenhaal y Conor McGregor podrían ser el próximo dúo dinámico de Hollywood, porque su reboot de "Road House" acaba de hacer historia con 50 millones de visitas desde su debut, un nuevo récord para Prime Video.

Los números fueron compartidos una semana después del estreno de la película, y los funcionarios aseguran que fue todo un éxito.

50 millones es una cifra récord para el debut de una película en Prime Video y McGregor estaba emocionado por el logro.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor might be the next dynamic duo in Hollywood ... 'cause their "Road House" reimagining just made history with 50 million views since its debut -- a new record for Prime Video.

The numbers were shared just over a week after the action flick premiered on the streaming giant ... with officials saying it attracted a ton of eyeballs.

50 million is a record-breaking number for a movie debut on Prime Video ... and McGregor was thrilled over the accomplishment.

Donald Trump can keep his cherished properties instead of having them seized by New York's Attorney General -- at least for now – after he posted a whopping $175 million bond!

As you know ... the former prez was saddled with a $454 million bond in his civil fraud case brought by AG Letitia James, but he appealed and got the amount slashed to $175 mil.

On Tuesday, DT took to his Truth Social platform to gloat right after paying the lesser, but still staggering bond amount. He also blasted James and the case judge, calling them corrupt and the whole situation election interference. No shocker there.

Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo sold millions of records together as The Neptunes but the two Virginia-made hitmakers are currently entangled in a legal war over use of the group's name.

Recently uncovered court docs show Chad opposing a trademark filing of Pharrell's company PW IP Holdings to lock up the rights to "The Neptunes" for music videos and other downloadable entertainment.

Pharrell's reps told Billboard he was simply going out of his way to ensure no outsiders got hold of the Neptunes' name, but Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich went as far as to declare Pharrell committed fraud by leaving his client's name off the filing ... without any input from Chad.

Mike Vrabel's got a lot more free time on his hands these days -- it is, after all, his first season out of head coaching since 2017 -- and TMZ Sports has learned he's spending at least some of it in Sin City!

Check out photos we obtained of the former Tennessee Titans honcho in Las Vegas on Thursday evening ... you can see he was getting after it on a craps table at the Wynn.

One witness tells us it didn't seem like he won much -- hence the long look on his face -- but nonetheless, a bad day in Vegas has to feel better than a bad day on the coaching headset, right?!

"Oppenheimer" is still bringing in the Benjamins ... as the Oscar winner brought in another couple mil at the box office … only this time, in Japan.

According to Variety, the period drama -- which took home the Best Picture at the Oscars -- made its long-awaited release in Japan this weekend ... 8 months after it premiered in the States.

On its face, the Japan showing certainly seemed to be a success ... as it added an extra $2.5 million to the box office record for "Oppenheimer" -- which now stands at $965 million in ticket sales globally.

El nuevo álbum de Beyoncé es un éxito en los servicios de streaming, incluyendo tal vez el más importante, alcanzando el récord del día en lo que va de 2024, lo que es bastante impresionante.

El último proyecto de la cantante "Cowboy Carter" se ha convertido en el álbum más reproducido de Spotify en 2024 a solo día de su lanzamiento el viernes y las cifras son totalmente fuera de este mundo. Según los datos de las plataformas de streaming, el disco ha sido reproducido 76,13 millones de veces desde su lanzamiento en Spotify.

Esta cifra es muy superior a la que alcanzó su último álbum "Renaissance" en Spotify en un solo día (unos 43 millones de streams en aquel momento) y es, por lejos, el mayor lanzamiento de este año.

Beyoncé's new album is a hit on streaming services, including perhaps the most important one out there ... snagging a day-of record for 2024 thus far, pretty darn impressive.

The singer's latest project, "Cowboy Carter," became Spotify's most-streamed album of 2024 in just a single day since its release on Friday ... and the numbers are out of this world. Per streaming data, 'CC' was streamed 76.13 million times since it dropped on Spotify.

That's way higher than what her last album "Renaissance" did on Spotify in just a single day -- about 43 million streams at the time -- and is far and away the biggest release this year.

Caitlin Clark's got a tough decision ahead of her -- play in the WNBA or take $5 mil to shoot in the Big3 -- but Reggie Theus tells TMZ Sports if he were the Iowa superstar, the choice would be simple ... play in the women's league.

We caught up with the 2022 Big3 Coach of the Year out at LAX this week just after it was revealed Ice Cube had offered the Hawkeyes hooper 5 Ms to play in as little as eight games … and it wasn't hard to tell he's glad he's not in Clark's shoes in this situation.

He told us on the one hand, the cash would be incredible ... but on the other, playing in the WNBA is lifelong dream material.

If Caitlin Clark does take Ice Cube up on his $5 million offer to play in the Big3, it's clear Nancy Lieberman wants dibs ... telling TMZ Sports she'll make sure the Iowa sharpshooter is ready to take down some former NBA vets!

Lieberman -- an ex-WNBA star who actually played for the Los Angeles Lakers' Summer League team in 1981-- has been the head coach of the Big3's Power since 2018.

She called the 3-on-3 org. "super competitive," but check out the clip -- it's clear as day she thinks Clark would be able to get buckets amongst the men.

"I think her teammates would set her up for success if this is what she chose," the 65-year-old said. "I would love to coach someone like Caitlin Clark. If given the opportunity, I certainly am not afraid of the moment."

If Clark decides to take the WNBA route instead, Lieberman won't sweat it ... as she feels it might force the women's league to up its pay wages.

"I think it's gonna push our friends at the W to increase salaries or some of the things that are gonna be negotiated in the CBA," Lieberman said.

"She's changing us financially and I think everybody should applaud her."