Awards / Awards Shows

Carrie Underwood may not be your classic country s**t-kicker, but she's definitely a s**t-stirrer ... because she got the CMA crowd all riled up Wednesday night by taking a shot at the Prez.

Carrie and Brad Paisley got all political with a reference to Taylor Swift, whom they suggested has abandoned country music.

There's a tiny bit of room for interpretation ... whether the audience is going wild over the fact that the Democrats lost the Senate, or whether Obama is so unpopular he derailed his own party.

It's the second time in 2 years Obama's been skewered at the Country Music Awards.

Oh, and Brad took a shot at TMZ, too. We'll take that as a challenge.

Sinead O'Connor says she's got proof AMA producers wanted her to stand alongside Pope Francis during their upcoming show ... and claims anyone saying otherwise is full of crap!

We broke the story ... an American Music Awards source told us Sinead's recent rant against them was ridiculous -- because they never discussed a Pope appearance. But O'Connor says that's BS.

TMZ obtained emails between Sinead's management team and her record label ... clearly referring to a discussion they had with AMA staff about appearing alongside the Pope.

Sinead's manager claims when he asked who producers were trying to snag for the show ... the record label rep said, "Take a deep breath ... Pope Francis. No joke."

It appears Sinead's position is that the AMAs wanted her essentially for a stunt ... to bring her and the Pope together on the stage, given the backdrop of beef the singer had with the Pontiff.

American Music Awards sources are saying they never wanted Sinead O'Connor to stand alongside Pope Francis on their show ... they say she was the one pushing for the appearance.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... it was actually HER team who contacted the AMAs ... but having Sinead end her Pope beef during the show was NEVER discussed.

We're told show producers were interested in Sinead being on the show ... but they say her claims about the Pope -- which she made on her blog -- are ridiculous and a tweet was never sent.

Sources say producers feel Sinead's been spewing BS for decades, so this rant is nothing new. More importantly ... we're told she will absolutely not be appearing on the award show now.

Sinead famously ripped apart a photo of Pope John Paul II during her 1992 performance on "Saturday Night Live" ... which got her banned from the show for life.

You couldn't blame a stagehand from the MTV Video Music Awards for having stage fright -- the guy took a painful fall off a red carpet platform ... according to the lawsuit he just filed.

Barry Glenn Bass says he was part of a work crew on the 2012 award show at Staples Center ... when a stage collapsed, causing him to plunge six feet. In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, he says the stage had not been properly supported.

Bass claims he was hurt badly enough that he was unable to work and got saddled with medical bills. The suit doesn't specify his injuries.

He's suing MTV's parent company, Viacom ... and AEG, which owns the venue -- saying they were responsible for the "unsafe" conditions that caused his tumble.

Suge Knight says it doesn't really matter who fired six shots into his body during a pre-VMA party -- because he's not concerned with getting revenge ... or at least that's what he wants you to believe.

Suge called in to TMZ Live Tuesday to talk about his recovery since the the shooting last month, and gushed about everything from his treatment at Cedars-Sinai ... to his new outlook on life after surviving.

As for who shot him -- Suge hints he might have seen the suspect, but quickly states it doesn't really matter because he's focused on other things now.

Suge Knight's torso looks like a piece of Swiss cheese -- riddled with 5 bullet holes, plus another in his arm -- and these photos of the damage make you wonder how in the world he survived.

In the pics, obtained by TMZ, some of Suge's wounds are still packed with gauze ... after the shooting nine days ago at a pre-VMA party hosted by Chris Brown.

You can also see the massive scar down the middle of his gut-- sources tell us doctors had to slice his torso open to make sure the bullets did not hit any major organs. Amazingly, they did not.

One crazy detail -- the bullet hole in Suge's arm is inches away from his ink honoring Tupac. One cool detail -- docs stapled him up so well, his tatt of a vintage whip almost looks untouched.

Kim Kardashian gave Rita Ora the cold shoulder at the VMAs last Sunday -- refusing to sit near her -- and sources close to the family say it's because Kim blames her for screwing with Rob Kardashian's head.

We're told Kim arrived at the awards show and discovered her seat was just a couple away from Ora's. Not wanting any drama ... she asked producers to find her a different seat. We're told she wasn't a diva, she just didn't want to have to be social with Rita.

Sources close to the Kardashians tell us the family still blames Ora for some of Rob's issues ... since his ugly breakup with her in 2012.

VMA producers had to scramble, but ultimately they found a seat for Kim ... with Kendall and Kylie.

Suge Knight left an L.A. hospital early Wednesday ... just 3 days after taking SIX gunshots to the gut at a pre-VMA party -- and he's healing amazingly well.

Suge's rep tells TMZ ... the music mogul left Cedars-Sinai around 6 AM, and doctors say he won't need any rehab -- just a few follow up visits.

As we previously reported ... Suge got blasted Saturday night at 1Oak nightclub at a Chris Brown hosted event -- but he's refusing to cooperate with the police investigation.

We're told Suge is already back on a regular diet, and if he keeps his bandages clean ... he'll be good to go.

Bryan Cranston is beloved by all his neighbors for playing a horrifying villain, and they let him know it by decorating the front of his house after his Emmy win.

After Bryan won for Best Actor ... the "Breaking Bad" star returned home to find balloons tied to his fencing and a handwritten note congratulating him.

But the thing is ... the note looks like it was written by neighborhood kids -- and we all know ... "Breaking Bad" is NOT fun family viewing.

Maybe they're just "Malcolm in the Middle" fans.

Suge Knight is NOT talking to cops about the 6 bullets that penetrated his body ... refusing to drop a dime on anyone.

Sources close to Suge tell us ... the wounded mogul is fully conscious, although on several occasions police were turned away on false info -- that he was supposedly sedated.

But during one visit cops were actually allowed to see Suge. A source tells us when they asked about the shooting ... Suge acted disoriented, asking, "I was shot?"

A freshly single Paula Patton re-emerged back out on the scene Monday night, hitting up Craig's in West Hollywood for a post-Emmys bash ... the first time she's been seen out since her break-up from Robin Thicke.

Sarah Silverman brought weed with her to the Emmys, but that doesn't mean she was high during the show. Now LATER in the evening is a whole other story ...

On her way into the big event, Sarah showed off her pot vapor pen and when she won an award ... people thought her speech was a little all over the place.

But after the show, Sarah told our photog she didn't smoke before or during the show ... but planned on celebrating with it later on.

Cause that's what winners do.

Katt Williams says he was with Suge Knight when he was shot at the pre-VMA party ... and the comedian maintains Suge was trying to protect someone else when the bullets started flying.

Our photog spotted Katt out in Malibu Monday, where he broke down the shooting of his friend Suge, like this:

-- Suge was not the intended victim and he was merely trying to save someone else ... possibly Chris Brown?
-- Suge's shooting was NOT gang-related because ... has there ever been a gang-related shooting where the other side didn't shoot back?

As for who pulled the trigger, Katt uncorked a rant about "nobody" shooting Suge ... theorizing the shooter might never be caught just like MLK Jr. and Malcolm X's assassins -- which makes zero sense since their killers were tried and convicted.

No one believed Riff Raff when he told us he was hooking up with Katy Perry -- but when they showed up at the VMAs together … in matching outfits … we started to reconsider.

And then we came to our senses and realized there's NO WAY this could possibly be more than a publicity stunt!!! Right?

Jimmy Fallon just hijacked Stephen Colbert's Emmy awards acceptance speech -- and it was either the first shot in a new late night war ... or a totally planned bit.

Colbert's crew won for 'Outstanding Writing in a Variety Series' ... and after Gwen Stefani butchered Colbert's name, Fallon ran up on stage trying to deliver his own acceptance speech.

Colbert's reaction is pretty funny -- especially considering he's taking over for David Letterman on CBS when he retires ... and he'll be battling Fallon for ratings.

The man who shot Suge Knight and 2 others at a pre-VMA party early Sunday is on tape clear as Knight -- problem is ... so far the eyewitnesses are clamming up.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 1Oak has a sophisticated surveillance system that covers almost the entire club, and at least one of the cameras clearly shows the gunman firing the shots. We're told the shooter's facial features are clear enough to make out.

As TMZ first reported ... cops are zeroing in on gang rivalry as a motive. Suge and Chris Brown -- who were inside the club -- make no secret of their Bloods affiliation. The Game -- who was denied entry -- also wears his Bloods affiliation on his sleeve.

We're told none of the witnesses want to be the person who fingers the gunman -- for obvious reasons.

We're told cops still have others to interview -- including Suge, who is currently sedated.