Money

Jordon Hudson's 64-year-old former lover is racing to her defense ... blasting haters who have accused her of being a gold digger for her romance with Bill Belichick -- while praising her as "wise beyond her years."

Joshua L. Zuckerman -- a businessman -- tells TMZ Sports ... he met Hudson several years ago, and after bonding over psychology, philosophy and nature, they became romantic.

The two were off and on for a while -- but ceased their dating relationship just prior to Hudson coupling up with Belichick.

Justin Timberlake fans are capitalizing on his legal woes ... turning his glassy-eyed mug shot into merchandise.

Check it out ... several Etsy creators have already released products centered on Justin's DWI arrest ... t-shirts, shot glasses and mugs have popped up on the e-commerce site.

One shirt -- which comes in a variety of colors -- features JT's mug and pokes fun at his song, "SexyBack" ... the tee is emblazoned with, "I'm Bringing Tipsy Back."

"The View" turned into a roast of Bill Belichick's love life on Friday ... with Joy Behar ripping into the Patriots legend for dating 23-year-old Jordon Hudson.

The panel weighed in on the love birds' 49-year age gap during the ABC show ... and while a few hosts defended the romance, Behar scoffed at it -- and cracked several jokes at the coach and cheerleader's expense.

"This girl is hearing wedding bells," Behar said. "The question is -- can HE hear them?"

Kyle Richards is firing back at haters giving her daughter grief for getting a pricey ass car for her 16th birthday -- saying kick rocks ... 'cause she's a good kid and deserves it.

We spoke to the "RHOBH" star in L.A. Thursday ... and we asked if all the flak that she and Mauricio Umansky are getting is warranted -- this after they gifted 16-year-old Portia a brand new Porsche Cayenne, which is valued at a little under $100k ... more or less.

Of course, the internet was all up in arms about the new whip -- saying a 16-year-old doesn't need that type of sweet ride at such a young age ... but KR here says she disagrees.

Bill Belichick's 23-year-old girlfriend is back on the competitive cheerleading mat ... and she's still getting some big air -- all while rockin' a skin-tight outfit!!

Jordon Hudson -- a former cheerleader at Bridgewater State University -- attended East Celebrity Elite Hingham practice in the Boston area on Thursday night ... making it clear she's returning to the floor for the 2024-25 competition season.

And, while she didn't land every stunt perfectly, she certainly looked good!!

Russell Brand's production company got paid a nice chunk of change for performing at a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. event earlier this year ... and we're talking tens of thousands.

TMZ pulled Team Kennedy's FEC filings ... and it shows the campaign shelled out more than $68,000 to Russell's production company for "Event Entertainment - Travel Expenses" after he appeared at a campaign event for RFK Jr. and his running mate Nicole Shanahan.

Russell performed at RFK Jr.'s event in May out in Nashville -- and it was called "Night of Comedy," alongside other comedians including Rob Schneider, Dave Landau, Jim Breuer, Katherine Blanford, Jeff Dye, and Mike Binder. Russell reportedly did a filmed set where he went after legacy media and scoffed at coronavirus mandates and vax requirements.

Kendrick Lamar channeled his inner "Makavelian" at his instantly-iconic "Pop Out" concert ... fans noticed he was dressed similarly to Tupac Shakur, and even rocked a massive diamond piece to complete the look!!!

Ben Baller tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Kung-Fu Kenny actually reached out to him last week requesting a king's cross, and the legendary jeweler had just the piece for him.

Ben says he wasn't aware Kendrick was going for a Tupac theme ... but Ben having been friends with Pac himself, made this the perfect collaboration for them.

The Kardashian empire is expanding ... with Khloe Kardashian prepping her very own podcast, powered by Elon Musk's X.

The reality star revealed she's signed a deal with the social media platform to host the original video podcast starting this fall. While exact deets about the new venture are still under wraps, with 26 episodes lined up, it seems Khloe's got a lot to dish out!

What we do know is producers describe it as a fusion of KK's "boundary-pushing sense of humor with her signature relatability to tackle dilemmas ranging from the everyday to the ever absurd."

JJ Redick is the guy for the Los Angeles Lakers -- the ex-NBA player was reportedly just hired as the organization's next head coach.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the news on Thursday ... saying after a thorough interview process, Redick was offered the gig and has already started building his staff.

The Lakers reportedly also interviewed names like Danny Hurley, James Borrego and Sam Cassell ... and also had interest in Kenny Atkinson, Mike Budenholzer and Ty Lue.

A man is suing Lil Uzi Vert, Floyd Mayweather and several of the boxing legend's Money Team employees, claiming they contributed to an ass-kicking he took last summer -- but Uzi says he had nothing to do with it.

The man's name is Abdullah Ali, and according to the lawsuit he filed Thursday in New York ... members of Mayweather's TMT team and Lil Uzi roughed him up on June 27, 2023 after he had simply tried to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a Mayweather-owned trailer while it was parked near an NYC hotel.

Ali's celebrity attorneys, Matthew Blit and Michael Rose, tell TMZ Sports ... Ali had crossed a street for a better view, and began filming when a Rolls-Royce was unloaded from the trailer.

Courtney Stodden is living the diamond life once again ... she's engaged to be married, and we've learned her new fiance popped the question just days after she sent her ex-fiancé's engagement ring down the toilet!

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... Courtney got engaged to Jared Safier last Tuesday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel -- the one made famous by "Pretty Woman" -- and talk about not wasting any time. The new engagement went down one week after she shockingly flushed a 5-carat rock.

We're told Jared, an Emmy-winning producer, presented her new diamond while they were at the hotel's THE Blvd Restaurant & Bar -- but he saved the traditional down-on-one-knee moment for when they got back to their Brentwood home.

A textbook on logic helped bring Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson together ... and the man who wrote it tells TMZ Sports he couldn't be happier!!

We broke the story ... the literary piece -- titled "Deductive Logic" -- was what first drew Belichick to Hudson way back in 2021 -- when they had their initial encounter on a plane ride from the Boston area to Florida.

Our sources say the ex-New England Patriots head coach was intrigued by the work that Hudson was studying on the flight ... and sparked up a conversation with her over it all.

Alki David -- the tycoon who famously created Tupac and Michael Jackson holograms -- just took a huge loss in court ... 'cause a jury hit him with a huge 9-figure verdict in a sexual assault lawsuit.

A jury of Alki's peers decided he oughta pay a Jane Doe who sued him $900 million in damages ... at least according to a report in the L.A. Times -- which cites the Doe's attorneys as announcing the judgment.

The astronomical figure reportedly includes $800 million in punitive damages and $100 million in compensatory damages ... and the jury award here is one of the largest in history according to the woman's legal team.

Queen's catalog is about to change hands, and it'll be an expensive acquisition -- 'cause Sony's acquiring the rights to the band's music ... spending 10 figures to lock it down.

The massive transaction -- valued at about $1.27 billion -- involves Queens' royalties for recorded music rights in the United States and Canada, plus a distribution deal outside the U.S. and Canada ... according to Variety.

Sony Music is buying the rights that used to belong to Disney, while Queen's distribution deal is currently managed by Universal and is going to expire in a couple years, at which point Sony will take the reins.

Elon Musk doesn't want to end up like John Lennon ... and he's paranoid one of his fans will try to kill him, just like the slain Beatles singer.

The Tesla honcho opened up at a recent shareholder meeting about precautions he's needed to take since his notoriety has skyrocketed in recent years -- more so than even before -- and EM claims that at least two "homicidal maniacs" have already attempted to take his life.

Elon says he's probably on someone's hit list because he's so famous ... and with the world getting "a little crazy these days" he says it's entirely possible someone tries to assassinate him ... a la Lennon.

5:25 PM PT -- Lisa Barlow tells TMZ ... "Bart Carlson was once a business partner in a restaurant in Park City and, I thought, a friend. I am deeply saddened that he has decided nine years after our restaurant business ceased to claim that I owe him money. To be very clear, the claim that I owe Bart or his company money is untrue. I pay my bills and obligations and I always have. In addition, Bart has no interest in Luxe Marketing or Vida Tequila and did not invest in either business. I look forward to the truth coming out and I intend to hold Bart fully accountable for any damage this personal attack may cause me or my businesses."

Lisa Barlow and 2 companies she's associated with -- including her tequila brand -- are facing a lawsuit that alleges more than $400k was loaned out ... but never paid back.

The 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' star, Vida Tequila and Luxe Marketing are all named defendants in a lawsuit brought by a guy named Bart Carlson -- who claims he's a longtime personal friend of Lisa -- over loans he says he made to her starting over a decade ago.

The way Carlson tells it ... Lisa came to him in 2010 and told him she and her businesses were experiencing financial hardship, and she needed lotsa cash to cover expenses.