Awards / Awards Shows

Michael Jackson's posthumous 60th birthday celebration brought 2 of his children front and center onstage.

Paris and Prince were there Wednesday night to honor and celebrate their late father's birthday at the Michael Jackson Diamond Birthday Celebration at Mandalay Bay in Vegas.

Paris looked stunning in a purple gown while rocking some MJ-themed sneakers. Prince wore a red jacket that looks similar to the one Michael famously wore in the late '90s. Style, man.

Tito and Jackie were also at the star-studded event ... along with Ashlee Simpson, Evan Ross, Blake Griffin, Gabrielle Union, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Hudgens and Usher, who was profoundly influenced by MJ's music and dancing. Usher performed ... as did Cirque du Soleil with its "Michael Jackson ONE" number.

Tons of MJ memorabilia was also on display at the event. BTW ... that cube Prince is holding -- it's a humanitarian award they accepted on their father's behalf from the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

When the shindig ended ... it moved over to the DAYLIGHT Beach Club for an after-party.

Janet Jackson kicked off Michael's birthday right Wednesday. As TMZ first reported ... Janet did an homage to MJ's "Remember the Time" music video, and it was awesome.

Kylie Jenner did NOT want to come face-to-face with Nicki Minaj at the VMAs, 'cause she completely changed course on the red carpet to avoid her.

Nicki was making her entrance at Radio City Music Hall Monday night, and Kylie was walking in her direction from the other end ... when she stopped in her tracks upon seeing Nicki. It's pretty clear she didn't want a confrontation -- 'cause she doubled back fast.

Can't blame her. Nicki put Kylie and her baby, Stormi, on blast this weekend ... blaming them for unscrupulously boosting Travis Scott's album sales by promoting his merch. She later went on to call Travis a "hoe n**** of the week" on her Apple Music radio show.

VMA producers had already accommodated Travis and Kylie by seating them far away from Nicki after placing them right behind her at first in a seating arrangement.

Looks like you can't avoid running into your problems sometimes -- but you can always run away from them. Kylie definitely didn't want that smoke.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez continued their PDA-fest after the MTV VMAs ... dancing on each other at a NY hot spot and TMZ Sports has the video!

J Lo was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the show -- one of the biggest moments of the night.

Lopez performed a medley of hits including "Ain't It Funny" and "I'm Real" with Ja Rule -- while A-Rod watched gleefully from the crowd.

In fact, there was a hilarious gif of Alex's face lighting up as he watched J Lo twerk her ass off during the performance.

After the show, the couple hit up Beauty and Essex in New York City -- where they continued to dance the night away together while the DJ played some of Jen's hits ... along with other hip-hop classics.

Lopez even rapped along to a Cardi B song while the crowd cheered her on.

Winning the MJ Video Vanguard Award is a big deal -- J Lo now joins an elite group with the likes of David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Rihanna, Janet Jackson and more.

Jenny arrived to the show with her two kids -- but put them to bed before she hit the after-party.

Hey, mama's gotta let loose!

Kevin Hart came out strong against Donald Trump at the MTV VMAs on Monday -- telling the President straight-up, "Suck it."

Hart was presenting the first award of the night with Tiffany Haddish -- and set the tone early, saying, "You never know what's gonna happen at the VMAs. Beefs pop off, bad language, people run to the bathroom and send out crazy tweets. It’s basically like a typical day in the White House."

Then he dropped the hammer -- "In your face Trump, suck it!"

It didn't stop there -- he then put the NFL in the crosshairs.

"We are live coast to coast right now," Hart said ... "I'm looking at this like it's game day people. But do not worry, cause at this game you guys are allowed to kneel! You can do whatever the hell you want, 'cause there's no old white man that can stop you. Do it!"

Nicki Minaj isn't just comparing herself to Harriet Tubman -- she's now saying she IS Harriet Tubman ... just new and improved.

We got the "QUEEN" MC leaving her hotel Monday night on her way to the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall, where our camera guy asked about a new controversy swarming around Nick from a tweet she put out earlier in the day ... conjuring Harriet's name, and drawing comparisons.

Some Twitter fans were furious Nicki insinuated she was in the same league as Harriet, although Nicki never explicitly compared herself to the civil rights icon. Until now, that is. Our photog has her on camera saying it straight-up ... "I am the new Harriet Tubman."

We press her to make sure she knew what she's saying, and the implications of her remarks -- which are certainly shocking. She pushes right back, insisting she is the next Harriet Tubman. You do you, Nick?

BTW ... we also got Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner heading to the VMAs, and asked if they were gonna try to squash the beef Nicki started on Sunday. They were mum on all that ... but we're guessing that whole mess will sort itself out in the stands.

We got 50 Cent out after the VMA's and asked him what he thought about the Harriet Tubman reference and he was ... guarded.

The 2018 VMAs were out of this world, and you can tell by just how damn happy everyone was behind the scenes.

Radio City Music Hall was lit up with A-listers Monday night during MTV's signature award show, and based on what we're seeing here ... it was kinda the Cardi B/Ariana Grande/Jennifer Lopez show heading inside. They definitely took up a lot of the spotlight.

Cardi was radiating in her purple gown just over a month after giving birth, and AG was showing plenty of PDA with her fiance, Pete Davidson. As for J Lo ... well, she was just being J Lo with A-Rod. 'Nuff said.

Safaree says he isn't worried about potentially running into his ex, Nicki Minaj, on the red carpet at the VMAs ... but he does have some advice for her.

We got the 'Love & Hip Hop' star Monday as he was heading to Radio City Music Hall in NYC to attend the MTV awards show when he took some clear shots at Nicki on the heels of their online beef ... not to mention all her other Twitter squabbles this week.

As we reported ... Safaree claimed Nicki once tried to stab him with a knife in 2014 -- she called him a liar. Nicki also called out Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner over the weekend for working together to push his album sales past hers on the charts.

Safaree's got some thoughts on that too ... pick your battles, Nick. And grow with the times.

Our guy also asks if he beefed up security to avoid any nasty run-ins with Nicki on the red carpet -- like MTV brass is already doing to accommodate the feuding exes -- but he insists he's only rolling deep as a result of his robbery earlier this year.

Aerosmith will be the closing act for the 2018 VMAs this week -- and it might very well give us a glimpse of what's to come in Vegas.

Sources close to the band tell us Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and co. are taking the stage Monday night at Radio City Music Hall in NYC to close out MTV's award show. We're told they're going to be performing their smash hit "Walk This Way."

We got the band out in NYC Monday ... and each member seemed to drop hints at a possible collab for their performance.

Considering the size of the venue, it'll be the perfect warm-up for Aerosmith ... the band's got a Vegas residency coming up. As we reported ... the band announced they'll be hitting the strip next Spring and putting on 18 shows at the MGM Grand Park Theater ... which seats 5,200 people.

RCMH seats more people -- a skosh over 6,000 -- but is significantly smaller in square footage. All in all ... we're guessing it'll be good practice for the Boys from Boston on a smaller stage than what they're normally used to. Might as well get it in early and often.

Also noteworthy ... Aerosmith had a pretty epic opening performance at the VMAs in 1999, where they also played "Walk This Way" ... but had some help from Kid Rock and Run-D.M.C.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott will have a direct shot at Nicki Minaj during the VMAs ... this after Nicki blasted them for cheating her out of the top spot on the Billboard chart.

The seating chart for Monday night's VMAs plays like some high school drama. Roughly 24 hours after Nicki went nuclear on Travis and Kylie, they'll be sitting within inches of each other at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

ICYMI, Nicki went off on Travis Sunday, blaming Kylie and her daughter, Stormi, for rocketing Travis to the top of the Billboard Chart with his album, "Astroworld," which came out 2 weeks ago. Nicki's convinced Kylie's strong social media presence is what pushed Travis over the top and firmly believes the No. 1 spot woulda been hers if not for Kylie and Stormi.

Grab ya popcorn.

The ugly war of words between Nicki Minaj and Safaree could come to a head if the exes run into each other at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, but there's a plan in place to avoid that ... TMZ has learned.

Nicki and Safaree will be at the VMAs Monday night in NYC -- she's performing and he's repping VH1 -- so both will be doing press on the carpet outside Radio City Music Hall beforehand.

It will be the first time the 2 will be in the same vicinity since Safaree claimed Nicki stabbed him and tried to kill him. She fired back, calling him a thief and a liar.

We're told people in charge of security at the event are well aware of the bad blood, and extra measures -- including more guards -- are being taken to ensure the 2 don't have any interaction ... and no nasty confrontation.

Eddie George is singing the praises of his new boss -- saying it was a PLEASURE starring in Tim Tebow's new movie ... and he thinks the guy could win an Oscar one day.

FYI, Eddie is one of the main roles in "Run the Race" -- a story about two brothers who use sports to overcome personal tragedies in their lives.

It's a faith-based, feel-good story -- so, it's perfect for Tim Tebow who produced the flick with his brother, Robby Tebow.

Eddie -- who plays a college recruiter in the movie -- says the Tebows did a "tremendous job" behind the scenes and show real promise when it comes to the business side of movie making.

"There's no limit to what [Tim] can do ... who knows, he could write a story that could win him an Oscar one day!"

Almost 50 YEARS after Arnold Schwarzenegger won the 1969 Mr. Universe competition -- he has finally been reunited with his 1st place trophy ... after it went missing decades ago!!

The story is wild ... Arnold won the contest in London back when he was around 22 years old -- during his second year as a pro bodybuilder.

But, he gave the hardware to his mother ... who ended up giving it away to a fan without telling her son and it went missing for years!

Arnold got a tip about the trophy during a visit to a local gym in Budapest -- when the owner put him in touch with a bench press champion named Lorand Berke ... the fan who visited Arnold's mom!

Berke brought the trophy back to Arnold -- who verified it was authentic!

Now, Arnold says he's "pumped up" to get it back and promises to get Lorand a replacement trophy as a reward.

Pretty cool, right?

Aretha Franklin, known for having one of the greatest voices in music history, and for hits like "Respect," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" ... died Thursday after a long battle with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Aretha passed away in her Detroit home where she was under hospice care. She'd been in failing health for many months and she was down to 86 pounds. One source told us he was informed more than a week ago that Aretha could go at any time.

She was surrounded by friends and family when she passed. Her family released a statement, saying, "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family."

She had appeared incredibly frail in recent years, and rarely performed live. Her most recent appearance was last November for Elton John's AIDS Foundation 25th Anniversary Benefit.

Aretha's career is just incredible. Born in Memphis in 1942, her family eventually relocated to Detroit where she began singing in her father's church. She was such a powerhouse gospel singer, she landed a Columbia record deal in the early '60s.

Her string of chart-topping hits began with her Atlantic Records deal in 1967.

Aretha's achievements in the late '60s were remarkable for any artist, but especially so for a black woman in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. She held the record for the most entries on the Hot 100 list of any female artist for nearly 40 years, only to be dethroned in 2017 by Nicki Minaj.

She won 18 Grammys and was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Aretha delivered a powerful rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" -- while wearing that unforgettable hat -- at Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.

Throughout her career, Aretha was known for delivering incredible one-off live performances, including at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors show where she sang 'Natural Woman' in honor of the song's co-writer, Carole King.

The Queen of Soul was 76. She is survived by her 4 sons.

RIP

The Academy adding a "popular" category to the Oscars has a lot of people riled up, including this guy -- who's got a movie coming out that could win -- and he's all for it.

We spoke to actor Page Kennedy on "TMZ Live" a day before his and Jason Statham's blockbuster film, "The Meg," is set to hit theaters -- where they're battling a prehistoric, humongous great white shark -- and he gave us his take on the controversy.

Page says films like his -- and other popcorn flicks like 'Mission: Impossible,' 'Fate of the Furious,' etc. -- deserve to be recognized for their badassery ... plain and simple. He says these types of movies have just as much value as traditional Oscar noms ... and could even add a much-needed shot of life into an award show that's gathering dust in the ratings.

Lea Thompson has zero doubt "Back to the Future" would've dominated the Oscars competition if the Academy had dreamed up the new popular film categories 32 years ago.

We got Marty McFly's mom outside Avra in Bev Hills, where she weighed in on the big Oscar changes coming in 2019. Lea makes no bones about it ... 'Future' was a global success that built an immediate cult following, and could have cleaned up.

The film, btw, did have some success at the Academy Awards in '86 -- it got nominated in 3 categories (Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song and Best Sound Mixing) and scored 1 statue for Best Sound Editing.

We wonder if "Black Panther" is now set up to do some Oscar damage, and if it is ... Lea's cool with it!!

Know what's not cool? The image of Lea banging Howard the Duck! Even the Academy has limits.

Lil Wayne done gone country as a member of Little Big Town, at least that's what the good people at the American Music Awards think ... TMZ has learned.

Clearly, somebody done screwed up and sources familiar with the blunder tell us Weezy just got 5 AMAs! The only problem is 4 of them don't belong to him ... they're for the hit-making country music band.

Now, LBT did win 4 trophies at last year's award show, while Wayne took home one. It's pretty clear what happened here -- just a Lil mix-up.

We're told Wayne did receive his actual AMA trophy -- Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Song for "I'm the One" -- but the people really getting screwed here are Little Big Town.

Our sources say the band's awards are still at Casa de Weezy, because he and his team -- especially Young Money Prez Mack Maine -- have no clue who to contact to get the hardware to LBT.

Wayne's just not that plugged in to the country world, but we see an opportunity here.