Awards / Awards Shows

Fiona Apple insists the movie industry's got nothing on the music biz when it comes to rampant sexual misconduct -- which explains her shocked reaction to us even asking.

We got the singer at LAX Thursday and asked her about the planned protest at the Grammys -- guests wearing white roses to show solidarity with the Time's Up movement. It's music's version of the black gowns at the Golden Globes.

Fiona's all for it, and says it should come as no surprise powerful men wield their power in the music biz the same way they do in Hollywood.

Justin Bieber isn't gonna show his mug at the Grammy Awards again -- or any other award shows for that matter -- until he's got something new to show for it ... HIS NEXT ALBUM!!!

Sources tell us Bieber is skipping the 2018 Grammys -- just like he did last year -- despite the fact a hugely popular song on which he was featured last year is up for a number of awards.

Bieber will not perform alongside Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee Sunday for their performance of "Despacito" -- which has been nominated for 3 Grammys ... Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

We're told Bieber loves Luis and Daddy, but he's passing on the performance because he doesn't want to make appearances until he finishes his new album.

That's big news. We didn't know Bieber had new music in the works, but he does. He'll presumably use award shows like the Grammys to promote the new tracks when they're ready, but not before.

Justin previously was a no-show at the Grammys because he didn't think it was relevant or representative of the music fans really liked. But hey ... business is business.

U2 won't really be performing live from a remote location during the "60th Annual Grammy Awards" ... but it will seem that way thanks to some TV magic.

Sources close to production tell TMZ ... the band is set to record their Grammys performance Friday night on a barge in the Hudson River. When the show airs Sunday night -- live from Madison Square Garden -- cameras will cut away from MSG to U2's pre-recorded performance

It'll look like it's live, but now you won't be fooled. To be clear, the boys from Dublin aren't lip syncing -- just playing live to tape.

It's not uncommon for huge live TV events to prerecord segments, especially when a stunt shot's involved. Remember Lady Gaga's nose dive into the Super Bowl?

Here's how the final product looked for that.

Sir Elton John scored a better view than Miley Cyrus at the Grammys ... scheduled duet be dammed.

Here's a look at the seating chart for Sunday's Grammys at Madison Square Garden in NYC ... where Elton's sitting right in front of Miley. Their duo is one of several scheduled for that night. Bruno Mars and Cardi B are also slated to perform.

There's a lot of buzz Oprah Winfrey will definitely NOT run for President in 2020, based on a recent interview she did ... but there's one crucial fact everyone's leaving out.

Oprah told InStyle she doesn't "have the DNA" to run for the White House -- which seemed to shut the door on the speculation that started after her Golden Globes speech. Problem is ... that "DNA" comment was made 3 weeks BEFORE the Globes.

That's spelled out in the "In Style" article, but almost no one's talking about that part of the story. You see the difference -- Oprah clearly could have changed her mind after the response to her Globes speech.

There's also the fact Stedman Graham said she'd "absolutely do it" if the people wanted her to run. We're guessing Stedman wouldn't have said that without some direct knowledge.

Sen. Marco Rubio told us Oprah might not be cut out for politics, but again ... he didn't know it was an old remark.

So, yeah ... we're saying there's still a chance.

Casey Affleck is backing out of presenting at the upcoming Academy Awards ... TMZ has learned.

The Academy tells us ... Affleck notified them he won't be presenting the Best Actress award at the Oscars on March 4, which is traditionally always presented by the Best Actor winner from the previous year.

According to our sources ... Casey has a lot of respect for the Oscars, and doesn't want the Best Actress category to be about him presenting. We're told he wants the attention to be focused on the nominees ... and doesn't want his presence to impact the winner's special moment.

As you'll recall ... Casey won at the 2017 Oscars for his role in "Manchester by the Sea," despite controversy surrounding past allegations of sexual harassment against him.

Taryn Manning got a sweet deal on her SAG Awards outfit -- but she's pissed off, and wants a piece of the stylist who dared to deck her out in a ... wait for it ... $200 dress!

Taryn was still fuming about the gown Wednesday at LAX. Our photog tried to congratulate the 'OITNB' star on scoring the ensemble that most critics loved ... for the look and the price.

Well, talk about different perspectives. You gotta see what happened when we tried to give her props. Taryn's happy everyone else can go buy her dress -- Adrianna Papell at Macy's and Bloomingdales, btw -- but strongly believes she deserves better.

Hell hath no fury ...

Byron Scott is ecstatic his old teammate Kobe Bryant was nominated for an Oscar -- and tells TMZ Sports he hopes people celebrate Mamba because people deserve 2nd chances in life.

Questions have been raised about how Kobe will be received at the Academy Awards on March 4 by a Hollywood crowd that's been cracking down on stars accused of sexual misconduct.

Obviously, Kobe has sexual misconduct allegations of his own in his past -- but Scott says he hopes people are able to forgive Kobe and let him move forward with his life.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is down with Ronald Reagan receiving a posthumous Oscar, but he concedes it would be an uphill battle.

We got the Republican Senator Tuesday on Capitol Hill and he thinks Reagan's CV is Oscar-worthy -- movie star, SAG President and Prez of the U.S.

There's a petition being circulated asking the Academy to honor Reagan -- as the only Academy member to become Prez.

The Senator -- who's retiring this year -- admits it's a tough road to hoe for any conservative to get love from members of the Academy.

BTW ... when Reagan first ran for Governor of California, his opponent campaigned against Reagan using his movie, "Bedtime for Bonzo" -- where Reagan chummed up to a chimp -- to argue he was unqualified.

Step aside, Julia Roberts ... Louie Anderson is the new pretty woman and he LOVES it.

We got Louie at LAX and asked if he's at all concerned about how he looks playing a woman in "Baskets." The role earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor, and Louie digs it ... telling us, he's absolutely way more attractive as a woman than as a man.

Louie's Emmy win was pretty groundbreaking. It was the first time a male actor has ever won for playing a female character.

Ya come a long way, Louie!

Gabrielle Carteris' #MeToo speech at the SAG Awards was so moving, fans thought it echoed one given by her character on "Beverly Hills, 90210" ... and Gabrielle agrees.

Carteris -- who's become Prez of SAG-AFTRA in 2016 -- tells TMZ she's "honored" people made the connection to her '90210' role of Andrea Zuckerman. Gabrielle made a powerful statement Sunday night about harassment and abuse in show biz.

She says Andrea was always a character who spoke the truth, and thanked her '90210' fans for making the comparison -- "You're the best!" for remembering her commencement speech at West Beverly High.

Check out the speeches for yourself ... it's pretty spot on.

Morgan Freeman has revealed the person that caused him to stop his acceptance of the SAG Life Achievement Award mid-speech.

Morgan says the person he stopped for was Lily Tomlin, who was nominated for "Grace and Frankie."

Now here's the thing ... it appeared he was schooling her, possibly for talking during his speech. But Morgan said afterward, "She's a wonder in herself and I've always loved her. I see her, I say hello."

That makes it sound like Lily didn't do anything but sit there in all her glory.

Joel McHale is a staunch supporter of the #MeToo movement, but has big issues with allegations like the one leveled against Aziz Ansari.

We got Joel Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival when our photog asked about Aziz, who was a no-show Sunday night at the SAG Awards.

He's on the Ashleigh Banfield train ... saying it sounds like a bad date rather than sexual assault.

The kids from "Stranger Things" got in each other's face ... for an awesome dance-off!!!

The kiddos were getting down Sunday night at the Sunset Tower Hotel for the Netflix SAG Awards after-party ... and leading the way were Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo as Fat Joe's "Lean Back" blared from the speakers.

Actors Lonnie Chavis ("This is Us") and Marsai Martin ("Black-ish") also joined in on the fun. The kids went wild when Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" came on. Huge little fans for sure.

The 24th annual SAG Awards was a mixed bag -- with the Time's Up movement as a backdrop ... there were some things (and people) we didn't expect to see.

For starters ... Kristen Bell served as the award show's first-ever host -- and she kicked off an all-female ensemble of presenters for the night ... most of whom spoke out in support of Time's Up.

James Franco was also in attendance, despite recently being accused of sexual misconduct. Aziz Ansari, on the other hand, skipped the show amid his own allegations.

Morgan Freeman called out a would-be talker during his Lifetime Achievement award speech ... and women appeared to abandon the wardrobe blackout they adopted at the Globes.

Morgan Freeman awkwardly called someone out during his Lifetime Achievement award speech at the SAG Awards Sunday ... but the person's identity remains a mystery.

Freeman was just about to launch into his acceptance speech when he stopped and zeroed in on someone in the front row, who appeared to be talking and distracting him.

The legendary actor didn't let it go -- if anything, he dragged it out by saying ... "Hey ... I'm talking to you. Yeah, hey." He finally finished with ... "Okay, well you just stand out to me. That's all" before continuing with the rest of his speech.