Awards / Awards Shows

Nicki Minaj is on a musical tear like grraah at the moment ... even without a new album out on the market!!!

On Tuesday, her recent single, the Lumidee-sampling "Red Ruby Da Sleeze," crossed the 500k sales mark ... which makes it eligible for a shiny Gold-plated plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America!!!

The track has been lighting up the charts and actively competing with her Ice Spice collaboration ... the "Princess Diana (Remix)" — which shot to No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, making it the first song by the duo to reach that milestone!!!

Matter of fact, the new "Princess Diana" is so popular, it's been outselling the next 13 top-selling songs COMBINED ... according to a new Forbes report.

Morgan Wallen's "Last Night," Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" and Post Malone's greatest hits track "Chemical" are just a few of the heaters Nicki and Ice have been topping as of late.

"White Lotus" star Lukas Gage and celeb hairstylist Chris Appleton are legally united now ... the duo tied the knot over the weekend with one of their special friends in tow.

TMZ has confirmed ... Lukas and Chris got their marriage license on Saturday, according to Clark County Clerk records.

Lukas and Chris got hitched over the weekend during a secret wedding ceremony at the Little White Chapel in Vegas ... according to Page Six, which first reported the marriage.

It was reportedly a very intimate affair, with only a handful of guests ... one of whom was their pal Kim Kardashian!

Lukas and Chris reportedly got engaged this month, weeks after confirming their romance on "The Drew Barrymore Show". They went public with their relationship back in February while vacationing in Punta Mita, Mexico.

It's not exactly clear when they started officially dating, but they're definitely not wasting any time ... for better or worse.

Busy weekend for them -- they went with Kim to see Usher's Vegas residency, and she also presented the "Hair Artist of the Year" award to Chris Sunday in L.A. at the Daily Front Row Fashion Awards.

Koko Da Doll, one of the memorable subjects from the recent documentary "Kokomo City," is dead ... and the film's director says she was shot and killed as a result of trans violence.

D. Smith -- director of the moving, award-winning doc featured this year at Sundance -- shared the sad news Friday, saying Koko, AKA Rasheeda Williams, "was shot and killed in Atlanta" Tuesday night.

She added, Williams' death makes her "the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women," -- but says she will "inspire generations to come and will never be forgotten."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Atlanta PD says cops responded to reports of a shooting just before 11 PM, and investigators found a woman who had been shot -- she was pronounced dead on the scene.

For those unaware, "Kokomo City" took home 2 awards at this year's Sundance Film Festival -- following Black transgender sex workers, including Williams, as they lived and worked in New York and ATL.

Williams, along with Daniella Carter, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver, accurately put a spotlight on the horrendous threats women like them face on a daily basis.

Sundance is also paying respects, saying "We were honored to have her at the Festival this year with KOKOMO CITY, where she reminded Black trans women, 'we can do anything, we can be whatever we want to be.' It is a tragic loss."

Williams was 35.

It's Good Friday, and one thing we didn't give up for Lent was these killer snapshots of Meagan Good -- so take a look at the actress in all her glory!

The "Think Like a Man" and "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" star has been in the game since the early '90s ... and this collection of pics is giving some seriously good vibes!

Meagan might be known for living in the city as Camille Parks on Amazon's "Harlem," but she really loves soaking in the sun at the beach -- like she's doin' in this hot shot.

And, when she isn't stomping the yard, Meagan's posin' for the camera in her green workout fit. Watch out for those geese, though!

Kelsea Ballerini doesn't regret her groundbreaking performance alongside drag queens on national television, and it definitely wasn't a surprise to showrunners ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... the backlash Kelsea's getting for Sunday's CMT Music Awards moment -- having four "RuPaul’s Drag Race" queens come on stage during one of her performances -- is falling on deaf ears ... 'cause she doesn't regret it one bit.

We're told Kelsea fully stands by her decision to feature the drag queens ... which some folks in conservative circles have gone ballistic over -- accusing CMT of going woke.

FWIW, the drag queens' appearance was fully planned. Production sources tell TMZ ... both CMT and CBS were extremely supportive of the cameo and knew about it from the get-go ... we're also told they'd been part of rehearsals since Friday.

One of the drag queens, Manila Luzon, says it was actually Kelsea's idea to involve them -- and she did so cause she's an ally. Manila says the drag queens were super happy with how things went and appreciate the network heads for giving them a platform in front of a new type of audience.

ML adds ... country music is moving forward with the rest of the world. The performance was a celebration of love and a celebration of artistry.

Kelsea Ballerini opened up the CMT Music Awards with a powerful speech ... a very personal tribute to the victims of the Nashville Covenant School shooting, and one that brought her to tears.

The country music star got emotional Sunday night as she opened the award show in Austin, Texas ... calling out the names of the 6 victims of Audrey Hale's rampage.

Kelsea started to break down when she added, "The community of sorrow over this and the 130 mass shootings in the U.S. this year alone stretches from coast to coast."

And, then she shared her own up close experience with gun violence in schools -- Kelsea recalled, "I wanted to personally stand up here and share this moment because on Aug. 21, 2008, I watched Ryan McDonald, my 15-year-old classmate at Central High School, lose his life to a gun in our cafeteria."

McDonald was fatally shot by a classmate at Kelsea's high school in Knoxville, TN -- it happened in a crowded cafeteria, in full view of several other students ... including Kelsea.

She hosted the CMTs with Kane Brown, and went on to dedicate the broadcast to the growing list of families, friends, survivors, witnesses and responders whose lives have been changed by such violence.

The 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards had a huge turnout ... with some of the biggest names in Hollywood coming out and even taking home honors.

This year's show went down Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton ... and it was all about honoring those in media who have been exemplary in highlighting the LGBTQ+ community and its issues.

The L.A. ceremony was hosted by actress/comedian Margaret Cho, and familiar faces in the crowd included Zaya Wade and her stepmom Gabrielle Union, Lisa Ann Walter, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Geena Davis and Vanessa Williams.

Other attendees included Diplo, Orville Peck, Michelle Visage, Billy Eichner, Lance Bass, Jennifer Coolidge, Frankie Grande, Jane Lynch, Chrishell Stause and G Flip.

As far as big winners on the night ... Christina Aguilera, Bad Bunny and Jeremy Pope were among the celebs to take home awards for their efforts.

During the evening, recipients for 15 of 33 categories were announced ... with series like "What We Do in the Shadows" and "The White Lotus" among top winners, along with films such as "Bros" and "A League of Their Own."

Taylor Swift took home top honors during iHeartRadio's big award show -- and while her acceptance speeches were touching ... it was her wardrobe that really drew eyes.

The pop star won Song of the Year and the Innovator Award Monday night, and in both instances ... she delivered some powerful remarks about what it takes to stand out and succeed in the music biz -- noting that the formula of a hit song isn't cut and dry.

Of course, she was talking about her fan fave track "Anti-Hero" -- picking out certain lyrics, words like "narcissism" and "altruism," as examples that not everything has to be so catchy and cookie-cuter ... arguing that artists can be real with their art.

Her Innovator Award speech was similar ... TayTay said she'd made a lot of bad choices in her life, but those had led her to make good ones ... including some that have spurred her to activism in the LGBT community and elsewhere, which was highlighted in the lead-up.

Now, we're sorta burying the lead here ... namely, TS was rocking an interesting getup for Monday's ceremony. It was a sparkly jumpsuit that was complete with a hood over her head that kinda made her look like a hip teen stuck in their backpack hip-hop phase.

Okay, maybe the fashion isn't the lead, but she looked cool in the hood. Hell, Lenny Kravitz was impressed.

Mike WiLL Made-It’s 34th birthday is one for the record books, literally ... at least in the ATL, where he's earned the city's Outstanding Citizen Award!!

T.I. and Philiana Williams, the director of mayor’s office of film & entertainment, presented the rap superproducer with a proclamation making March 23 "Mike WiLL Made-IT Day" in Atlanta … and plenty of his friends and fam were there to celebrate.

Rae Sremmurd, DJ Greg Street, Outkast’s Big Boi, Xscape’s Tiny, Sonny Digital, Tricky Stewart, ATL Jacob, Spence Lee and Soulex all rounded out the guest list Thursday at Hal’s Steakhouse.

The occasion also served as a birthday party for WiLL, so, appropriately, his parents Shirley and Michael Williams Sr. were also there to celebrate ... along with former City Councilman Kwanza Hall.

Mike just scored a couple of tracks on Miley Cyrus’ new album and is prepping his own project with features from Pharrell, Future and J. Cole ... just for starters.

Austin Butler's 'Elvis' movie went 0 for 8 at the Oscars -- and while it's unclear if the King himself is feeling down, we do know things have gone south (of the border) for him.

The actor was hanging in Cabo San Lucas with his GF, Kaia Gerber, last week -- photographed lounging poolside at their fancy hotel. They were in swimwear -- both looking smoking hot, no doubt -- but there doesn't seem to be too much heartbreak.

AB and Kaia looked fairly neutral as they took in the sunshine ... with just a little bit of PDA.

After a bit of R&R, Austin and Kaia hopped on a golf cart and rolled on over to another part of the resort ... paps snapped the model leaning her head on her boo thang's shoulder as he handled steering duties.

While we're sure Austin/Kaia are enjoying themselves, ya gotta imagine the guy is somewhat bummed about getting iced out of any statuette glory for the most important award show of his life. He had a lot of buzz and momentum behind him ... but so did Brendan Fraser.

Of course, the latter ended up taking home gold for his role in 'The Whale' ... and as we all saw, 'EEAAO,' swept just about everything else -- clearing the deck on all the big categories.

Adam Sandler is the latest to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor -- which got just about every comedian to D.C., including Chris Rock, who dropped some new, timely Donald Trump material.

Sandler was on hand Sunday to get the prestigious award at the Kennedy Center ... with a packed house of celebs and politicians watching and joining the celebration. Some of the A-listers included Ben Stiller, Dana Carvey, David Spade, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Conan O'Brien, Steve Buscemi and more.

A lot of people got on the mic to sing the legendary comic/actor's praises -- including Drew and Steve -- highlighting his epic 'SNL' tenure and his prolific career in Hollywood. But, the recipient himself got major laughs during his acceptance speech ... he joked he was worried the award "might be the weapon used to bludgeon me to death."

One person who sorta stole the spotlight was his pal Chris ... who did a mini stand-up set and referenced the supposedly imminent arrest of the former prez. Chris humorously, we think, warned that doing so would make Trump more popular than ever.

CR also made a crack about Paul Pelosi -- who was in the audience next to his wife, Nancy -- by saying he was the only one who knew what it was like to get assaulted ... referring to the SF attack at his home. So yeah, Chris is still talking Oscars slap.

He also gave President Biden a back-handed compliment, saying he'd come "back from the dead" to become Commander in Chief. Edgy stuff, but it seemed to go over well enough.

Anyway, back to Sandler ... the guy's contributions speak for themselves, and he's certainly deserving of some recognition.

Some of his most notable movies include 'Billy Madison,' 'Happy Gilmore,' 'The Wedding Singer,' '50 First Dates,' 'The Waterboy,' 'Mr. Deeds,' 'Big Daddy,' 'Punch-Drunk Love,' 'Uncut Gems' ... just to name a few.

Adam joins an exclusive and pretty damn funny list -- other recent Mark Twain honorees include Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Letterman, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy and more.

Brendan Fraser's Oscars celebration is now a full-fledged family affair ... after his fun night at a legendary Sunset Strip club where his son hopped onstage to jam out.

TMZ obtained video of Brendan and his son, Leland, having a ball Monday night at Whisky a Go Go in WeHo ... chilling in the green room and signing the performer's wall.

Brendan takes a few beats to find the perfect space to leave his John Hancock, with onlookers making a wisecrack about his handwriting ... and then Leland follows suit, and gets an earful too.

Folks who were there tell us Brendan and his son got to the venue around 9 PM and watched an '80s cover band perform ... with Leland even jumping on the stage to play guitar with the band at one point.

Leland's dad was a big hit at the Whisky, as tons of people came up to his table to congratulate him 24 hours after his Academy Award victory ... and we're told he didn't turn away anyone. Folks who met Brendan described him as very down-to-earth.

Robert Blake getting left out of the Oscars "In Memoriam" tribute was a big mistake on The Academy's part -- at least, according to the late actor's son, who's also pissed his dad's death was a punchline.

Noah Blake tells TMZ ... people are allowed to have their own opinion about his father -- which obviously many have -- but he says when it comes to an annually anticipated segment like the Oscars Memoriam, opinions shouldn't be a factor.

He also points out his dad wasn't the only one left out ... as you know, stars like Tom Sizemore, Anne Heche, and Paul Sorvino were excluded from the broadcast. It's something that seems to happen every year, and Noah thinks it once again wasn't handled well.

Noah also gave us his thoughts on Jimmy Kimmel's joke about whether or not to include Robert in the segment -- obviously, he found it to be in poor taste. He also says it landed flat, because he was confused if the "interactive portion" was legit or just a gag.

For what it's worth, the audience laughed ... clearly getting it was a gag.

He adds he doesn't usually believe in jokes being "too soon," but points out the fine line Jimmy was walking on when he poked fun at the actor.

Noah tells us he's going to go live on Instagram at 5:30 PM PST Tuesday to talk about his dad and his life.

Pauly Shore is pissed off at Jimmy Kimmel making him the butt of a joke during the Oscars ... saying it was gratuitous and hurtful.

The comedian/actor told Page Six how he felt when JK used him as a punchline while celebrating his 2 former costars from 'Encino Man' -- one of Pauly's cult classics from the '90s.

Turns out ... the jab left a wound. PS says, "We love to hate people when they’re on top. People wanted to smash me down and they did. I was always nice to everyone, always cool, I put my heart into all my films."

He adds, "You’re buying and selling a human being. Human beings have feelings, it’s not like selling real estate." He says he's quite happy for Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan ... both of whom acted in 'Encino' and each of whom won their own statuette Sunday night.

Pauly goes on to talk about a comeback of his own and how he wants to get back into acting. At the moment, he's touring and about to hit SXSW soon -- he also teases a possible TV show that might come about that focuses on his upbringing from the '70s and '80s.

It seems having a couple of his old costars swing back into the spotlight has him itching for some of that too. Pauly ends by saying, "I am not going to stop. I’m going to keep going. I know I’m going to get that call, and get that opportunity. That’s what it's about."

While Pauly might be craving mainstream success again ... he's actually been steadily working. Dude's got roles racked up for just about every year going back to the 2010s/'00s ... albeit, none of those projects are as memorable as what he did in the 20th century.

Avril Lavigne got a little feisty with a topless streaker who crashed the Juno Awards ... and the fans all seemed to love it.

The singer-songwriter was onstage introducing fellow musician AP Dhillon at the annual event in Edmonton, Canada Monday night ... when things suddenly took a bizarre turn.

Check out the video ... the woman sauntered onto the stage with no security in sight, prancing around with a message scrawled across her back.

The message read, "SAVE THE GREEN BELT," a reference to a controversial residential development plan spearheaded by the Ontario government.

Avril played it cool at first and ignored the woman, but then decided enough was enough. She turned to the woman and barked, "Get the f**k off. Get the f**k off, b***h."

Security finally showed up and escorted the woman away. It's not clear if she was arrested.

Later on, Avril joked about the strange encounter during her acceptance speech for the TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award. She said, "Now nobody try anything this time or the Canadian's gonna come out of me and I'll f**k a b***h up."

The audience ate it up. One fan told a reporter Avril did "a great job handling" the disruptor. Another person said he got a good chuckle out of it, while acknowledging Avril had initially kept her cool. A third person commended Avril for doing a fantastic job in "fighting through" the disturbance.

It marked the latest drama in Avril's life. As we reported, she broke off her engagement with Mod Sun and is now dating Tyga. Avril and Tyga were recently seen gallivanting around Paris during Fashion Week, locking lips and holding hands. We're told their growing relationship is no publicity stunt, but the two haven't put a boyfriend/girlfriend label on it yet.

Chadwick Boseman got a lot of love at the Oscars ... something his family was well aware of and super appreciative to hear during the big night.

Allen Boseman, Chadwick's cousin and the attorney for the Boseman family tells TMZ ... "It's been incredible how Chadwick has been received by the entire Hollywood family and how his legacy continues to live on."

He goes on to say ... "Even though he's physically gone his spirit remains in the hearts and minds of his peers and fellow actors and actresses on Hollywood's biggest stage. While he was a figurative king in the movie, he appears to be a real king to many others, including those in our family."

ICYMI, Danai Gurira, who starred alongside CB in "Black Panther", paid homage to Chadwick before Rihanna performed "Lift Me Up".

Ruth E Carter, who took home Best Costume Design for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" also made a moving tribute to Chadwick and her late mother during her acceptance speech ... saying "Chadwick, please take care of mom."

You'll recall Chadwick played King T'Challa in "Black Panther". He died in 2020 after a 4-year battle with colon cancer.