Awards / Awards Shows

Joel Embiid says his next career goal is to win NBA MVP next season ... and he's already got a plan on how he'll celebrate!

The Philadelphia 76ers superstar was leaving Catch in L.A. after the NBA Awards -- hours after it was revealed Embiid will grace the cover of the upcoming NBA Live 19 video game.

What's interesting is ... the guy he's replacing is James Harden -- who just won NBA MVP after being the cover guy for NBA Live for the 2018 version of the game.

Jamie Foxx threw a BET after-party that possibly rivaled the Vanity Fair Oscar party because the place was swarming with A-listers and featured performances by Migos and T.I.

We're told Foxx dropped half a million on the shindig that was held in his L.A.-area mansion after Sunday's awards show. Guests, which included Michael B. Jordan and the entire cast of "Empire," had to be shuttled to the event. MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh and Lil Mama were also there.

In addition to Migos and Tip ... Tyga and Too Short also took the stage. There were six open bars where Grey Goose flowed like water and, for anyone who had too much, there was In-N-Out burger.

We're told security was making sure no one went upstairs, since it was Foxx's legit home. Bet cleanup was a bitch, not that Foxx is going to be handling that either. He just signs the checks.

Kobe Bryant just got rejected at the rim by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- which just denied membership to the Mamba ... claiming he doesn't have a good enough body of work.

You know what he does have? AN OSCAR!!!!

Kobe won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short for "Dear Basketball" -- which was based off a retirement letter he published on The Players' Tribune back in 2015.

Kobe is credited as the executive producer and writer of the film.

Worth noting, Oscar winners are automatically considered for membership -- but it's not a shoe-in. The board votes on who gets membership based on a specific criteria.

One of the items on the checklist for producers -- "have the equivalent of 2 producer screen credits and perform the majority of the functions of a producer on theatrical feature films of the caliber which in the opinion of the executive committee reflect the high standards of the Academy."

For the record, Kobe produced the docu-series 'Muse' -- but it doesn't appear that would qualify under the Academy's standards because it was produced for TV.

Still, there are some people who believe the membership denial is due to Kobe's controversial past and the rise of the #MeToo movement.

Despite the fact Kobe was cheered on by the Academy when he won at the Oscars, there has been serious blowback.

Chadwick Boseman got an award for playing a super hero on the big screen, but he couldn't accept the award without acknowledging a real-life hero just several feet away from him. Enter James Shaw Jr.

The "Black Panther" star won the Movie award for Best Hero Monday at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards ... and he thanked the fans for making 'BP' a monumental success. But then something incredibly special happened ... so, get ready for goosebumps.

Watch the clip ... Chadwick turned the spotlight -- rightfully so -- on Shaw ... who heroically wrestled an AR-15 from a gunman at a Waffle House in Tennessee back in April.

Tiffany Haddish will come face-to-face with the Black Panther himself before taking over hosting duties of the MTV Movie & TV Awards.

Production sources tell us Monday night's show will open with a "Black Panther" spoof featuring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Lil Rel Howery. In the spoof, Haddish will battle T'Challa -- played by Chadwick Boseman -- for the right to host the show.

Haddish, of course, comes out on top and will celebrate with a victory tune -- Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow."

President Trump's concerned Robert De Niro is suffering brain damage from his boxing movies, and thinks that's the ONLY explanation for the Oscar winner saying, "F**k Trump" at the Tony Awards.

The Prez turned his attention to De Niro's diss after finishing up with Kim Jong-un in Singapore ... saying De Niro is a "low IQ individual" who "has received to many shots to the head by real boxers in movies."

Yes, call the Irony PD -- POTUS used the wrong "to" while calling out Bobby D's IQ.

Anyway, 45 went on to suggest De Niro's ignoring great economic and employment numbers, and ended his brief Twitter rant with, "Wake up Punchy!"

Robert De Niro needs to learn some R-E-S-P-E-C-T when it comes to talking about President Trump ... according to another actor who's outraged by De Niro's "F**k Trump" comments at the Tony Awards.

We got actor and singer Robert Davi Monday at LAX, and asked him about De Niro's simple, yet fiery speech ... which got a rousing ovation from the -- clearly partial -- crowd.

Davi strongly disagrees with what De Niro did ... saying, "I respect you as an actor, but it was disgusting what you did, and everyone who stood up."

Davi, who's been a vocal backer of Trump, says it doesn't matter who's in the White House -- it's just wrong to speak about a Prez that way. For example, he told us how he handled a meeting with former President Obama, whom he did not support politically.

Robert De Niro's over coming up with clever ways to insult President Trump -- he's now sticking with "F*** Trump," which he just blurted out at the Tony Awards ... twice.

Bob was introducing Bruce Springsteen ahead of his Tony performance Sunday night, and before he could utter a word of grace ... he dropped the big F-bomb on DT.

De Niro didn't waste any time with his message either, going right into ... "I just want to say one thing -- F*** Trump." He got a huge standing ovation from the room, and continued with ... "It’s no longer down with Trump. It’s f*** Trump." Even more cheers erupted.

CBS ended up bleeping huge sections of his remarks in an attempt to censor the profanity -- and that left many wondering exactly what De Niro had said.

Fitting that Lindsey Vonn and P.K. Subban finally made their long-rumored coupling Insta official in Smashville Wednesday night, isn't it??

There have been rumors about the two for months ... but Vonn and the NHL star finally publicly confirmed their relationship last night ... hitting the red carpet together at the CMT Music Awards.

The two have been spotted hangin' out a lot recently ... taking in a Red Sox game and a Celtics playoff game last month.

They also hit business classes together at Harvard last week ... and Vonn was at one of P.K.'s playoff games last month in Nashville too.

But, they've successfully avoided taking a coupley photo until Wednesday night, when Vonn made sure to caption their selfie with a yellow heart.

Maybe it was the Keith Urban love songs that did it??

Oprah is absolutely shook about becoming an exhibit at a Smithsonian museum ... as you're about to see in this video. Seriously, it's "everybody gets a car" level excitement!

The TV queen spoke to Adam Glyn Tuesday in NYC, where he congratulated her on the Oprah exhibit coming to D.C.'s Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Smithsonian calls her an activist whose contributions run parallel to those of Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells. So, you can imagine ... O's going totally bonkers over the honor, and explained why it's the last thing she ever expected.

Some of the items in the exhibit include the suit she wore during that 2004 car giveaway, and images from her 1971 East Nashville High yearbook. "Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture" will be open for a year, starting this Friday.

We get it, O. What's gonna top this? Even she doesn't know.

Gigi Hadid appears to be getting her Picasso on for the CFDA Awards this year -- choosing a VERY brightly-colored jumpsuit as her outfit of choice for the big show.

The elder Hadid sister was heading out Monday in NYC on her way to the 2018 Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards at the Brooklyn Museum. It's clear that she wanted to make a big splash on the red carpet ... by getting every other color in there too.

Frankly, we're kinda getting "Les Femmes d'Alger" vibes here from Gigi's jumpsuit. That, or maybe a little Matisse, perhaps ... or even Tekashi69. But that's just us.

Kendrick Lamar is the toast of a Pulitzer Prize event where some of the most influential people in the world are pressing to rub elbows with him.

The pride of Compton was at Pulitzer luncheon Wednesday at Columbia University. He's being honored in the music category, and Mia Farrow couldn't wait to get a snapshot with him. Mia's son, Ronan, is getting Pulitzer's public service award for blowing the lid off Harvey Weinstein's history of sexual misconduct.

Kendrick's arrival was so highly anticipated, the Pulitzer's administrator welcomed him before he even walked into the building.

Kung Fu Kenny winning the music category was unprecedented. He's the first non-classical or jazz artist to win the prize since they started awarding them for music in 1943.

Dikembe Mutombo says he's gonna show the world just how honored he is to receive the Craig Sager Strong Award ... by actually wearing the crazy Craig Sager-inspired jacket given to the winner.

It was just announced that Mutombo would be the recipient of the 2018 award ... which is given to individuals who display courage, compassion and grace to their fellow man.

We got Mutombo at LAX and asked if he planned to actually wear the jacket, which is a replica of the crazy multicolored joints Sager liked to rock when he was a reporter (NBA coach Monty Williams won last year), and Dikembe said YES.

"I already bought the shoes to go with it!"

BTW ... if you thought Dikembe was done being a real-life superhero, he's not -- telling our guy he's planning on building a school in the Congo to honor the memory of his father, in addition to the hospital he's built for his mother.

Yeah, do more.

5:00 PM PT -- The corporate fallout for Freeman has begun ... Visa announced it's suspending its marketing in which the actor is featured. TransLink -- a Vancouver-based transit system that features a Freeman voiceover in an ad -- made a similar announcement, as well.

Morgan Freeman's huge honor from his peers from the Screen Actors Guild is now on the line ... in the wake of sexual harassment allegations ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for SAG tells us, "These are compelling and devastating allegations which are absolutely contrary to all the steps that we are taking to ensure a safe work environment for the professionals in this industry."

Freeman was awarded SAG's Life Achievement Award back in January but now says it's reviewing what "corrective actions" might be appropriate.

SAG acknowledges Freeman has the right to due process, but says it's "our starting point to believe the courageous voices who come forward to report incidents of harassment."

As we reported ... 8 women told CNN they were the victims of harassment or sexual misconduct by Freeman on several movie sets, and at media events connected to his movies.

Soccer legend Brandi Chastain is a total babe -- but the people who made her Hall of Fame plaque made her look more like Babe Ruth!

You remember Brandi ... one of the greatest Team USA soccer players of all time -- she famously ripped off her shirt after scoring the winning goal at the 1999 Women's World Cup.

Chastain was honored with a plaque at the San Francisco Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame induction on Monday ... but man, did it look bad.

Gotta hand it to Brandi ... who graciously accepted the plaque despite the fact it looked NOTHING like her.

"It's not the most flattering, but it's nice," Chastain told reporters during the event Monday night.

Chastain isn't just classy -- she was AWESOME on the field, racking up 30 international goals for Team USA during her career. Back in 2013, she was named one of the USWNT All-Time Best XI.

She's also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Shawn Mendes just honored victims of gun violence with an emotional tribute at the Billboard Music Awards ... and with the help of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Shawn took the stage Sunday to perform his song "Youth," and was joined by singer Khalid ... who's featured on the song. Toward the end of the performance, multiple students from MSD's choir came out as well to help him finish out the tune.

We broke the story ... Shawn was aiming to send an uplifting message with the Parkland students' cameo -- especially in the wake of another school shooting this week that left 10 people dead.