Awards / Awards Shows

Kendrick Lamar started the 2018 Grammys with some violent imagery that included him fake shooting his dancers onstage.

K.Dot kicked off the award show Sunday night with a politically-charged performance -- during which he "shot" down his many dancers one by one ... sound effects and all.

It was a little shocking to say the least, and presenter Dave Chappelle expressed as much by asking ... "Is this on cable? On CBS?" He added ... "This brother's taking enormous chances."

Musicians at the 2018 Grammys are trying to pull off their own symbol for the #TimesUp movement ... but they're not nearly as united as actors were for the Globes.

Celebs began arriving to Madison Square Garden Sunday ahead of the 60th annual Grammy Awards in NYC, where some stars have vowed to wear a white rose to honor Time's Up.

There've been a handful of heavy hitters rockin' the white appendage -- Lady Gaga , Kelly Clarkson, Ne-Yo, Eve, The Chainsmokers and Reba McEntire so far. Others expected to wear the flower include Kesha, Halsey and Camila Cabello ... just to name a few.

Still, artists in the music world have been relatively quiet about Time's Up (aside from those mentioned above). Looks like they're keeping it that way for the time being.

Lorde is now the second nominee out of 5 for Album of the Year who won't be performing at the 'Grammys' Sunday, and it's all because the offer she got from producers was a slap in the face ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Lorde tell us ... the singer decided not to play after a heated back and forth with the Grammys about her involvement in the show. We're told Lorde wanted to perform one of her songs from her nominated album, but she was only offered the option to sing as part of a Tom Petty tribute ... during the late rocker's tune, "American Girl."

The 2 sides couldn't come to an agreement ... so Lorde pulled the plug on performing altogether and we're told she won't be on the Red Carpet either.

It's interesting -- our sources say the other 4 nominees, all men, got offers to perform their own tracks solo, and while Jay-Z declined ... the other 3 nominees -- Bruno Mars, Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar -- are all slated to perform.

None of the Grammy nominees will be going home empty-handed, because the Grammys gift bag is filled with thousands of dollars worth of swag that's perfect for the traveling musician or pop star, especially if they're an animal lover or just lonely and want to talk to someone dead on the phone.

Nominees like Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, SZA and more will be getting the bags filled by Distinctive Assets. They include a Wi-Fi pet feeder to a phone reading with a dead loved one, valued at $150 for a 45 minute session. The most expensive thing is SmileDirectClub's invisible teeth aligners, which cost $2,170.

Here's some other swag in the bag:

-- Finger companion monkey toy ... $14.99
-- Ear wax removal kit ... $34.29
-- Handbag poncho ... $20
-- Wireless eye massager ... $24.99
-- Handheld steam inhaler ... $179
-- Book of the Month Club .. $150

Alana Evans isn't shying away from the story about Donald Trump's alleged tryst with fellow porn star Stormy Daniels back in 2006 ... because she thinks it's par for the course for guys like him.

We got the porn Hall of Famer at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo Thursday night in Vegas, and asked her about Stormy's alleged romp with the Prez. Alana suggests we all know what went down, even though Stormy's not talking.

More interesting, though, is how Alana feels about the First Lady. She believes Melania should stick with Donald despite his alleged affairs, and says it could be part of their arrangement.

The white rose movement at the Grammys has florists scrambling to fill TONS of orders ... the demand is so overwhelming they've had to turn away business.

We talked to a bunch of NYC flower shops who tell us they've fielded a crazy number of requests for white roses that Grammy attendees plan to wear Sunday at Madison Square Garden. As you know ... guests are wearing them to show solidarity with the Time's Up movement. It's music's version of the black gowns at the Golden Globes.

Kelly Clarkson, Halsey, Cyndi and Rita Ora are among the many artists who plan to take part. We're told Warner Music Group alone ordered 100 white roses for their Grammy festivities.

Business is so good one shop owner tells us they've sold out. Another shop owner tells us it received a request for a whopping 50k white roses ... but the short notice doomed their ability to fulfill the order.

Janet Jackson and Missy Elliott united onstage Thursday night, but this time it wasn't for a performance.

Janet presented the "Work It" singer with the Visionary Award at the Essence 9th Annual Black Women in Music award show in NYC, and it was a really sweet moment.

The icons have been tight for years. Missy even came out onstage in December during the final stop of Janet's 2017 tour. JJ came close to shedding tears when she, apparently, made direct eye contact with Missy during the speech.

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.