Awards / Awards Shows

The 2018 Emmys kicked off with an overly long and overly topical monologue from hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che that tried hard to be funny ... but ended up being cringeworthy.

The 'SNL' vets came out standing shoulder-to-shoulder Monday night and threw zinger after zinger after zinger at the board -- most of which were so on the nose and didn't really stick.

Some of the worst attempts at humor came in jokes about the #MeToo movement, with Che saying it was great being there with everyone who hadn't been caught yet. Jost also quipped that Roseanne Barr had canceled herself, but got picked up by white nationalists.

Another eyebrow-raising line from Che ... 'The Handmaid's Tale' is like the white women's version of 'Roots' ... since the characters are forced to have babies and work against their will.

They also took shots at Trump by saying they hoped the Obamas' Netflix production deal would churn out a new 'Apprentice' that got huge ratings ... something DT would clearly hate.

Forget Dior and Chanel ... "Black-ish" star Jenifer Lewis was all about NIKE at the Emmys -- rocking a Swoosh sweatshirt to support Colin Kaepernick.

"I am wearing Nike to applaud them for supporting Colin Kaepernick and his protest against racial injustice and police brutality," the actress told Variety.

Lewis says she was swimming the other day when she started brainstorming fashion ideas that would be "meaningful" on the red carpet ... and that's when Nike came to mind.

"I'll wear Nike to say 'thank you' ... thank you for leading the resistance. We need more of corporate America to stand up also."

She added, "Thank you, Colin. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for being brave. Thank you for taking a knee. Thank you."

Nike signed Colin to a new deal recently -- and will be dropping everything from a new custom shoe to a Kaepernick-themed apparel line.

Les Moonves was at the helm of 18 TV programs that have been nominated for Emmys, but he's not going to the big shindig Monday night ... because CBS didn't invite him.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, CBS made a decision not to extend the invitation in the wake of the sexual misconduct scandal. Each network gets a certain number of tickets it can distribute as it wishes, and Les will not be a beneficiary.

A network source calls it a "non-issue" because Moonves has not attended the Emmys in several years.

One source says it's complicated because Moonves was not technically fired, although he was clearly forced to step down after a dozen women accused him of sexual misdeeds. Nevertheless, it's the network's decision who gets tickets ... so, case closed.

As for some of the shows nominated under Moonves' watch ...

-- "The Amazing Race"

-- "The Big Bang Theory"

-- "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert"

-- "The Late Late Show with James Corden"

-- "Bruno Mars: Live 24K Magic at the Apollo"

12:15 PM PT -- We're told Bregoli's "cover" isn't the actual cover at all ... it's a paid advertisement wrap for issues of the magazine that will hit stands Friday. So while it might appear Bregoli is the featured artist, it's actually Lil Wayne.

Danielle Bregoli has cemented her status as one of the top female rappers -- deal with it -- and Billboard's stamp of approval says it all.

Danielle -- aka Bhad Bhabie -- has just landed the cover of Billboard ... slated to hit stands Friday and just a few days shy before Bhabie's first mixtape "15" is also released. The cover is very much deserving -- it comes on the heels of earning a Billboard nomination for top rap female artist along Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. Strong company, for sure.

TMZ obtained video of Bhabie's behind-the-scenes when she shot the cover. Need more proof she deserves it? Bhabie's the youngest female rapper of all-time at 14 to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 -- 3 of her tracks have made it on ... including "Hi Bich," which has amassed 119 mil views on YouTube alone.

John Legend just joined a group of elite performers ... with a Tony, Oscar, Grammy and now an Emmy award to his name.

Legend completed the accomplishment Sunday night when he took home an award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for his work on Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. Legend joins Whoopi Goldberg and Mel Brooks as EGOT winners and is the first African American man to do so.

As for a breakdown of John's other awards ...

Tony -- 2017 for Best Revival of A Play for his work on Jitney

Oscar -- 2015 Best Original Song for "Glory"

Grammy -- Legend has 10

Congrats!

Kanye West has taken his talents to the XXX screen -- he's the creative director for the Pornhub Awards -- and he's got his hand in just about every aspect of the show.

Thursday night's inaugural show will be presented in VR live from The Belasco Theater in L.A. We've learned Kanye and his creative house DONDA have partnered with Willo Perron -- who has worked on some of the biggest tours in music -- will manage the show's production and stage design.

Kanye is also set to premiere a new single and music video with Lil Pump called "I Love It." The video is executive produced by Spike Jonze -- who Kanye's collabed with a ton in the past on projects like "Only One," "Otis" and "Flashing Lights" -- and co-directed by Kanye.

And, get this -- Ye will incorporate his clothing brand too -- all of Thursday night's performers will be decked out in Yeezy gear.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts says it's reconsidering rolling out a new "popular" category for the Oscars, and putting the move on ice for 2019 ... and probably forever.

The AMPA said Thursday that the bemoaned category of "Best Achievement in Popular Film" merits further study ... and it won't be happening for the 2019 award show. As you'll recall ... the backlash to the announcement last month was swift and fierce, with cinephiles calling it the death of the Academy Awards and simply a way to pander to ratings.

The Academy's CEO, Dawn Hudson, says ... "There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members." She continued, "We have made changes to the Oscars over the years—including this year—and we will continue to evolve while also respecting the incredible legacy of the last 90 years."

We'll take this a step further and predict this means the "popular" category will never see the light of day, especially after people stop talking about it when the 2019 show's over. Once the buzz dies down, our money's on the Academy never moving to reinstate it.

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.