Awards / Awards Shows

BET pulled out all the stops for Nipsey Hussle at its annual award show ... and the emotion onstage and in the crowd was palpable.

In a powerful moment, Hussle's family took the stage to a standing ovation, including the late rapper's girlfriend, Lauren London, and his son, Kross Asghedom, to accept the 2019 Humanitarian Award on his behalf.

"I just want to thank you guys for all of the love and support and the marathon continues again," London said briefly.

"I was so amazed that so much love was out in the world that it uplifted me," said Hussle's grandmother. "God said to Nipsey, 'You've done your job, you've made your mark.' So thank you so much world for loving him, too.' His parents also spoke briefly of their son.

The slain South L.A. MC was presented with a special tribute Sunday night during the BET Awards --where T.I. spoke some kind words about the hip-hop icon, recounting the impact he had on the community as a whole.

"There will never be another Nipsey Hussle; he was a revolutionary," T.I. said. "He was our blessing and inspired people across the world.

The powerful moment led into a musical tribute to Hussle, with performances by Marsha Ambrosius on "Real Big," YG on "Last Time I Checc'd" and DJ Khaled and John Legend leading everyone in white for an emotional performance of "Higher."

They also played a video tribute to Nipsey's life with words from Snoop Dogg, Ava DuVernay and Los Angeles Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson ... it included footage from the last video Hussle shot before his death.

Nipsey was a driving force in his community ... inspiring people to make South L.A. better by both words and deeds.

TMZ broke the story ... Nipsey was gunned down in March outside of his Marathon clothing store in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles.

Nipsey left behind two children -- 10-year-old Emani, and 2-year-old Kross, the latter whom he shared with Lauren London.

He was 33 at the time of his death.

The 2019 BET Awards saw hip-hop legends hanging out with newcomers, movie stars mingling with TV counterparts and everyone was having a good time … showing off their bold styles, fierce swag and lots and lots of cell phones.

Some of the big stars who kept their phones close by ... La La Anthony, O.T. Genasis, DJ Mustard, Bobby Lytes, Lil Nas X and DJ Khaled -- The latter also took part in a touching tribute to Nipsey Hussle alongside YG, John Legend and Marsha Ambrosius.

Other stars taking in the festivities were 2 Chainz, Rihanna, Cardi B, Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Lil Nas’ collabo partner Billy Ray Cyrus … along with lots of other fab faces.

The 7th Annual BET Experience Saturday night did not disappoint ... not by a long shot.

The big event celebrating BET Weekend in L.A. went down at Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and featured the likes of Cardi B, Migos, G-Eazy, Yung Miami, Lil Yachty, Lil Baby, and Trippie Redd.

Staples was also where Meek Mill and YG performed Friday night, with a tribute to Nipsey Hussle.

The concerts are all a lead-up to Sunday night's 19th Annual BET Awards, which will go down at L.A.'s Microsoft Theater. Cardi leads the nominations with 7, followed by Drake with 5.

Zachary Levi didn't waste time firing zingers during his opening monologue at the MTV Movie & TV Awards ... most laughed sans Princess Love.

The star-studded affair was taped Saturday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica but aired Monday night. Jada Pinkett Smith (Trailblazer Award) and The Rock (Generation Award) were just some of the honorees. Hollywood's heavyweights rolled through ... from Tiffany Haddish and Tessa Thompson to Elisabeth Moss and Melissa McCarthy.

But, things got off to an awkward start during Zachary's opener when he decided to go there. As Princess Love and Ray J sat side by side ... Zachary delivered a Kim Kardashian sex tape joke.

Check out the clip ... Ray J stands up when he hears his name but moments later is reduced to sitting with a blank stare on his face after Zachary's punch line. Princess Love was none too amused ... giving cameras the double bird.

Roman Polanski can't use the courts to sneak back into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ... at least according to Academy's lawyers.

In its response to Polanski's lawsuit -- claiming the Oscar org booted him without proper notice -- the Academy says the disgraced director has no right to use the very same legal system he's been evading since 1978.

He famously fled the U.S. before he could be sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of sex with a minor.

In the docs, the Academy says Polanski's lawsuit -- in which he also demands re-entry to the group -- should be tossed. The Academy also says it did everything by the book when it expelled him.

Country stars Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker will take the stage together tonight at the CMT Music Awards, but the girl power will only grow from there ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the show tell us ... during Carlile and Tucker's performance of the latter's 1972 hit, "Delta Dawn," the ladies will be joined on stage one-by-one by 6 more popular female artists -- a mix of country legends and rising stars.

We're told it's CMT's tribute to the power of women in country music, and the special guest performers will include Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Lauren Alaina, Deana Carter, Rae Lynn and Carly Pearce.

Our sources say the ladies will join in on "Delta Dawn," but we imagine they'll put their own spin on it ... and it's certain to be a showstopper.

Brandi and Tanya's collab comes on the heels of Carlile producing Tucker's upcoming album, "While I'm Livin" ... her first new music in 17 years.

The CMT Music Awards air live Wednesday night from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville at 8 PM ET.

2:08 PM PT -- Fairstein just resigned from the Board of Trustees at Vassar College in New York.

Linda Fairstein, a central figure in the wrongful prosecution of the Central Park 5, is facing even more fallout ... Glamour magazine says they messed up when they honored her as their woman of the year.

Fairstein was Glamour's Woman of the Year in 1993 ... only a few years after she helped convict the Central Park 5 as head of the Manhattan D.A.'s Sex Crimes Unit.

On Tuesday, Glamour issued a scathing rebuke of their decision to honor Linda ... saying, "Unequivocally, Glamour would not bestow this honor on her today."

Linda is getting crucified on social media in the wake of Netflix's new show about the case and its aftermath ... and some people are now directing their hate toward Glamour, calling the mag out for promoting "When They See Us" ...yet staying silent on Fairstein until finally caving Tuesday to mounting pressure.

TMZ broke the story ... Fairstein is facing huge backlash in the wake of Ava DuVernay's new Netflix show, and a nonprofit organization Fairstein worked with for nearly 2 decades wants to force her out.

As we first told you ... Central Park 5 exoneree Raymond Santana told us he believes karma is finally catching up to Fairstein, who became a successful author of children's books and mysteries -- with people calling for a boycott of her books and publishers.

Fairstein has been silent ... making no comment since "When They See Us" debuted last weekend.

June Ambrose gets the award for most cringe-worthy moment at the 2019 CFDA Awards ... after making a monumental mental slip about the late Kate Spade.

The costume designer and star of "Styled By June" was chatting up celebs arriving Monday night at the fashion awards show at the Brooklyn Museum -- which was live streamed -- when she made a shocking and insensitive gaffe.

June was interviewing entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman and asked what designer she was wearing. When she said she was wearing Kate Spade, June replied ... "Are you here with Kate? Is she here?"

Seemingly unaware that the famous fashion designer died a year ago by suicide, Ambrose continued to look around for Spade and asked if she'd skipped past her. Bronfman was visibly rattled, but kudos to her for handling it with class and finding a way to NOT shame June.

People watching online, however, didn't let June's slipup slide -- blasting her online for being clueless and insensitive.

Ambrose indirectly acknowledged her mistake when she signed off, saying ... "It has been my honor and pleasure to host, screw up and cause chaos tonight on this carpet for you. I hope you enjoyed and learned as much as I did."

She also tweeted early Tuesday morning, apologizing for her mistake, and admitting she made "an error."

Robert De Niro took a good long minute out of his speech honoring his good pal, Al Pacino, to call for the removal and arrest of President Trump -- and his off-script moment drew mixed reviews.

De Niro was singing Pacino's praises Sunday at the American Icon Awards -- where the veteran actor was among 5 people honored ... Quincy Jones and Evander Holyfield were a couple of the others. Right as he was winding down his speech, though ... De Niro took the opportunity to remind everyone that he really, REALLY does not like POTUS.

He said Al, of course, was worthy of the Icon award ... but the only thing Trump should be getting at this point is impeachment and imprisonment. Check out the rant for yourself -- not necessarily as fiery as his "F**k Trump" moment at the Tonys ... but same message.

Anyway, as for how the Bev Hills crowd took his Trump pivot ... there were actually some boos. As Bob went on and on about DT, the audience seemed a little unsettled.

Neymar had a HUGE choice this weekend ...

1) Show up to a massive European soccer awards ceremony to watch his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Kylian Mbappe, be honored for being a STUD this season

Or, 2) ... BLOW IT ALL OFF AND HANG WITH RIHANNA!!!

Obviously, you saw what Neymar chose.

The 27-year-old had been expected to attend the prestigious Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP) Football Awards Ceremony in Paris ... but RiRi called, so he was out!

Instead, Neymar turned up to the Boum Boum nightclub in Paris to help Rihanna celebrate the launch of her new luxury fashion brand.

Neymar posted a pic of the two hanging out with the caption ... "Queen and powerful woman 👑🤫 @badgalriri."

As for Mbappe ... he did okay (even without Neymar to support him) -- winning the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award ... along with the Young Player of the Year.

Careful, Neymar ... Mbappe is the new hotness.

And, if you're not careful, he might skip YOUR next award ceremony when Rihanna calls him!!

Call him Sir Andy Murray now ... 'cause the tennis superstar was at Buckingham Palace on Thursday -- receiving his knighthood from Prince Charles himself!!

The 32-year-old actually learned he'd be receiving the honor back in 2016 ... but he held off on having the ceremony until this week because of his tennis schedule.

What exactly does knighthood entail for Murray? Nothin' crazy ... the award is just a way for the Royal Fam to recognize the 3-time Grand Slam champion's achievements on and off the court.

It's kind of like when Donald Trump gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods.

But, Murray was still stoked about the honor afterward, saying, "I'm very proud to receive it. It's a nice day to spend with my family."

It's also a good moment for Murray given what he's been through this past year. Remember, he underwent hip surgery just a few months ago to try to save his tennis career.

Murray seems to be recovering well, but unclear if he'll be ready for Wimbledon this summer.

Alex Trebek is in the battle of his life, but he clearly hasn't lost his sense of humor, because he stole the show Sunday night at the Daytime Emmys.

Alex won Best Game Show Host, this in the wake of his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. When the crowd stopped roaring, he kind of went in on them, grousing he's not a big fan of sympathy votes.

But then ... the best game show host in the biz did an about-face, noting just a year before he was in another life-or-death health battle and he was overlooked when the Emmy folks doled out the hardware.

In the end, Alex pulled a Sally Field and said he appreciated the gesture.

We love this dude.

Blake Griffin sure hopes Drake didn't seal Arya Stark's fate on "Game of Thrones" by shouting her out at the Billboard Music Awards ... him and everyone else, tbh.

We got the Pistons star outside of the Maxfield clothing store in WeHo Friday afternoon and asked him about Drizzy showing love to Maisie Williams' 'GOT' character Wednesday night when he mentioned her during his acceptance speech for the Top Billboard 200 Album.

ICYMI ... Drake made sure to plug Arya for "putting in that work last week" during Sunday's episode when she killed the Night King with some fancy dagger moves -- basically saving every living person in Westeros from eternal death in the process.

BTW, this is a spoiler -- and you should've seen it by now. If you haven't, well, here it is ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway ... Blake really, REALLY hopes the Drake curse doesn't kick in here for everyone's sake. Like he says, "I think we all need a little bit of Arya." Considering Champagne Papi's track record with supporting losing teams ... here's praying Blake's right.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Rob Gronkowski looks like he's OFFICIALLY moved on from football -- and onto acting -- 'cause the retired Pats star killed it as a fake cop at the Billboard Music Awards!!

It all went down Wednesday night ... when Gronk kicked off the BBMA show as a "security guard" who was bouncing Kelly Clarkson.

The skit was pretty funny ... Gronk pretended to kick KC -- who he called a "seat filler" -- out of her spot to let Florida Georgia Line take her place.

When Clarkson eventually moved on to sing her opening number ... Gronk came back for more -- pretending to drag her off the stage!!

Gronk later presented an award to Cardi B with Terry Crews -- and even joked about his potential next career there ... saying he wanted to be a TV host just like TC!!!

Oh, and the guy had amazing seats -- proving Hollywood is totally down to accept him -- 'cause he was sitting in the second row just behind Taylor Swift!!!!!

Of course, Rob's no stranger to Hollywood ... he's had plenty of movie cameos, he's done skits for the WWE, and he even hosts the show "Crashletes" on Nickelodeon.

By the way, Rob also brought his smokin' hot GF, Camille Kostek, to the awards show ... which begs the question, could there be some wedding bells along with a future acting career soon???

The 2019 Billboard Music Awards are in full swing ... and there have been some amazing performances so far.

Some of the biggest names in music took the stage Wednesday night for some pretty awe-inspiring performances inside the Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas ... rocking the crowd and getting everyone hyped between the award-giving.

Taylor Swift set the tone for the night, playing her new single "ME!" and bringing in a marching band for a super colorful set. Kelly Clarkson kept the party going, belting out a medley of hits from artists across all genres of music. Ciara did her thing, Halsey sang her heart out and the Jonas Brothers continued their triumphant return and kept the good vibes rolling.

The stages weren't the only thing getting the rock-n-roll treatment ... check out which famous folks where hanging out behind the scenes when the television cameras weren't looking!

Singer Peabo Bryson suffered a mild heart attack over the weekend and is currently in the hospital ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for Peabo tells TMZ ... the Grammy-winning balladeer was at his home in Georgia early Saturday morning when he suffered the mild heart attack. We're told Peabo's currently responsive and both his medical team and family are optimistic he'll make a speedy recovery.

The rep tells us, "At this time, privacy is requested; however, the thoughts and prayers of friends and fans are welcomed and appreciated.”

Peabo, of course, won two Grammy Awards in 1992, one for his performance of the song "Beauty and the Beast" with Celine Dion and another in 1993 for "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle. The "Aladdin" theme song was so huge back in the day ... it toppled Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" from Billboard's Hot 100 chart in March 1993. Both tracks also took home Oscars for Best Original Song.