Awards / Awards Shows

Flavor Flav isn't shy about his Taylor Swift fandom. After going super viral for attending her concert in Detroit, the Public Enemy legend says he can't wait to see Taylor live again.

TMZ Hip Hop checked in with Flav Thursday on the heels of his grand appearance at Taylor's 'Eras' show. The 64-year-old couldn't understand why people were so surprised to see him enjoying the sounds of TS in person.

As far as Flav is concerned, Taylor's a mega-popstar who's sold over 100 million records ... so of course he's gonna appreciate her greatness!

Flav and Taylor first linked up at the iHeartRadio Awards in March, and he tells us he was bumping her music wayyy before that ... as he's a fan of all genres.

Flav says iHeart's invited him and Chuck D to perform as Public Enemy at their upcoming iHeartRadio Music Festival in September ... and Flav says the group's got a new album on the way.

The project will mark album #16 from the legendary act, and Flav says they've enlisted the services of their OG production team The Bomb Squad for the beats.

Outside the studio, Flavor says his recent trip to Harvard inspired his life for the better and he owes his newfound energy to 3 years (and counting) of sobriety.

Flav and Chuck will also be at the Rock Hall on June 29 to kick off the HipHop50 Exhibit.

Busta Rhymes' 30-year career in the rap biz will be honored in full at an upcoming event, presented by Netflix.

The veteran rapper will be receiving the Icon Award at the 7th annual Culture Creators Innovators and Leaders Awards Brunch ... which won't have a shortage of star power in the spotlight this year.

Chloe x Halle will be granted the Innovators of the Year Award ... while LSU b-ball champ Flau'jae Johnson, Stephen Hill, Troy Carter, Karl Kani, Laurieann Gibson, Chris Robinson and Candace Rodney will all be recognized for their areas of expertise.

The event goes down on Saturday, June 24 inside the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom and is also sponsored by Lexus.

Uzo Aduba hit the Tony Awards Sunday for Broadway's biggest night ... but she had an even bigger surprise, revealing she's having her first child!

The Emmy-winning "Orange Is the New Black" actress arrived at the United Palace Theater in NYC and marked the occasion by unbuttoning her bright orange suit jacket to show the world her baby bump. Aduba also confirmed to People magazine she and her husband were about to become proud parents.

Although it's unclear how far along she is, Aduba might want to stock up on toys and onesies if she hasn't already ... looks like the little one could pop out at any moment.

Of course, Aduba was all smiles as she posed for photos with her film director husband, Robert Sweeting, who could hardly contain his own excitement about the new addition to their family.

Aduba married Sweeting in New York in 2020, but she didn't make it public until the following year in a heartfelt Instagram post quoting the movie, "When Harry Met Sally."

The message, in part, read, "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Late rap icon Tupac Shakur has officially been honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ... and the occasion brought out his fam, friends and everlasting supporters.

Tupac's sister Sekyiwa Shakur held back tears as she addressed the massive crowd Wednesday while speaking on her brother's accomplishments ... summing up his legacy as one filled with passion and perseverance.

Fans and friends -- including YG, Mike Epps, Naughty By Nature's Treach, and ceremony MC Big Boy -- completely shut down part of Hollywood Blvd to pay their respects to Tupac, who is still hailed as one of the best rappers of all time.

Tupac was previously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and has a pair of Diamond albums to go along with his 75 million records sold and the Hollywood star simply dots the "i" in Thug Life!!!

Cynthia Weil, one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of all time, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Cynthia's daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, tells TMZ ... "My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music."

Jenn says her mother, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, passed on Thursday night.

Cynthia's catalog is eyepopping ... The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin," Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," The Drifters' and George Benson's "On Broadway," The Crystals' "Uptown," The Righteous Brothers' "You're My Soul and Inspiration," The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of this Place."

The list just keeps going, with Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Kicks," The Ronettes' "Walking in the Rain," Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," which Kanye West sampled for his debut solo single, "Through the Wire" ... and that's a VERY short list of the hits she wrote.

Cynthia's writing partner for many of her hits was her husband, Barry Mann. They were married for 62 years.

They were nominated for an Academy Award and won 2 Grammys for Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram's "Somewhere Out There" from Steven Spielberg's "An American Tail."

She and Barry received the first-ever National Academy of Songwriters Life Achievement Award.

In her early years, Cynthia was an actress, singer and dancer and became a protégé of Tin Pan Alley songwriter Frank Loesser.

Cynthia and Barry had massive hits in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

She worked with other collaborators to produce hits like "Running With The Night" and "Love Will Conquer All" with Lionel Richie. She also worked with David Foster for the soundtrack to "St. Elmo's Fire," including the hit, "For Just a Moment." And then, there's Peabo Bryson's "If Ever You're In My Arms Again,” and "He's So Shy" by The Pointer Sisters.

BTW ... "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was the most played song of the 20th Century!

Cynthia received 112 pop, country and R&B awards from BMI.

Cynthia and Barry produced another big hit ... their daughter, Jenn Mann, AKA Dr. Jenn, a psychotherapist, author, and host of VH1's "Couple's Therapy." Jenn and her fiance Eric Schiffer were by Cynthia's side when she passed.

The family adds, "Cynthia Weil's Grammy award winning lyrics touched the hearts and souls of hundreds of millions of people around the world, making her one of the most iconic songwriters of the 20th Century. Her husband, Barry Mann, says, "I'm a lucky man. I had two for one, my wife and one of the greatest songwriters in the world, my soul and inspiration."

Cynthia was 82.

Terrell Owens wants the "ring culture" crowd to take a seat ... telling TMZ Sports championships shouldn't account for everything when it comes to respecting an athlete's greatness.

We caught up with Owens on the heels of 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony announcing his retirement last week ... and the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver told us although the Syracuse legend never won an NBA ring, he's still an all-time great.

Of course, T.O. and Melo have something in common -- both were among the best in their respective sports during their playing days ... but were never able to reach the pinnacle before walking away for good.

With that being said ... we asked T.O. about the folks trying to discredit ringless résumés ... and he feels it should have zero impact when it comes to legacy.

"Not everybody gets to win a championship," Owens said at LAX. "That's not the defining thing. Obviously, as an athlete, you want to compete. You obviously want to win a championship, but sometimes that's not in everybody's cards."

T.O. defended Melo ... saying his body of work in the pros playing most notably for the Nuggets and Knicks "speaks for itself" and warrants respect.

FYI -- former NY Giants running back Tiki Barber was one of the biggest talking heads to compare Melo to T.O. given how their careers played out ... saying, "Obviously one of the all-time greats. You're not even questioning his skill. You don’t question T.O.'s skill. But, you do start to question the winning. Did he ultimately win?"

Owens didn't take the comment as a diss ... and went on to say despite not winning championships, they'll both have some bling that holds a lot of weight when it's all said and done.

Meghan Markle received her own coronation of sorts Tuesday night in NYC.

The Duchess of Sussex and hubby Prince Harry flew to the Big Apple to attend a fancy-schmancy gala honoring Meghan with a Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Award from her friend and political activist Gloria Steinem.

It was Meghan's first public appearance since she skipped the coronation of her father-in-law, King Charles, and his wife, Queen Camilla, earlier this month in London.

As you know, Harry went solo to the coronation and had an awkward time with his royal family given all of their drama. Since then, Harry and Meghan have kept a low profile only being seen -- briefly we might add -- leaving a sushi restaurant in Montecito.

But now they've come out of their shell. Check out video of Meghan and Harry arriving in an SUV to the awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan. As shutterbugs snapped photos, Harry jumped out of the backseat followed by Meghan, who looked stunning in a Johanna Ortiz gold dress. Meghan's mom, Doria, also tagged along.

After the three went inside, Meghan hit the stage and accepted the award from Steinem for her advocacy work to empower women. She delivered a speech, giving a shout-out to her mom and thanking Steinem for being a mentor. She also talked about the impact "Ms." magazine had on her life growing up.

Harry and Meghan then left exactly how they came in -- surrounded by paparazzi and flashing cameras. The couple jumped into the back of an SUV, which then drove off.

Damar Hamlin was just handed one of the NFL's highest honors -- the Bills safety has been named the George Halas Award winner for his perseverance after suffering cardiac arrest during a game.

The league made the announcement on Monday ... saying the 25-year-old is the NFLer who overcame the most adversity to succeed in 2023.

Damar experienced commotio cordis after making a tackle during a Monday Night Football game against the Bengals in January ... requiring immediate CPR and being rushed to the hospital.

Despite his medical emergency, Hamlin has been fully cleared to play in the NFL again ... and has been using his story to influence change throughout the country ahead of next season.

In March, Hamlin visited Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where he urged lawmakers to put more AEDs in schools nationwide.

Hamlin -- who started a campaign to spread CPR awareness and training with the American Heart Association -- also met with President Joe Biden during the trip ... with the two sides having a conversation about the cause.

Forget Tigers -- at least, for one evening -- LSU gymnastics star Olivia Dunne was all about a horse on Thursday night ... hoppin' on a famous one to celebrate her appearance at the ACMs!!!

Livvy had no issues whatsoever climbing on Sheriff the Bar Horse while out in Dallas for one of the biggest nights in country music ... not even changing out of her ballroom gown to enjoy the moment.

Dunne appeared to have an absolute blast on the horse ... grinning from ear to ear as photogs snapped pics of the Tigers gymnast.

As for why the animal was out at the big country music awards show -- which went down at Jerry Jones' Ford Center -- Sheriff is famous in Dallas ... constantly being seen at local hot spots and Cowboys games.

Dunne, meanwhile, seemed to enjoy the rest of the night at the show outside of the ride on Sheriff ... even snagging a pic on the red carpet with former Team USA gymnast Nastia Liukin.

The MTV Movie & TV Awards are going on without a host ... and now there won't be a live audience anymore either.

The upcoming award show, set to air Sunday on a bunch of TV channels, is pivoting away from a live audience ... according to Paramount Global exec Bruce Gillmer.

Bruce, who is also executive producing the award show, tells TMZ ... "As we carefully navigate how best to deliver the fan first awards show we envisioned that our team has worked so hard to create, we're pivoting away from a live event that still enables us to produce a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of film and TV over the past year."

The change comes on the heels of Drew Barrymore bowing out as host in a show of solidarity with striking Hollywood writers.

Sources at MTV tell TMZ ... the show is not live, but it's still happening, there just won't be a live audience.

The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards are scheduled to air Sunday at 8 PM ET on MTV ... with simulcasts on BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1.

Billie Lourd is calling out her aunts and uncles -- Carrie Fisher's siblings -- saying "they know why" they didn't get invited to Carrie's Walk of Fame ceremony ... and it's all about money and alleged exploitation.

Billie tells TMZ ... she's seen what her mom's brother and sister -- Todd Fisher and Joely Fisher -- have said recently and feels she has to speak up after being blasted by them for not inviting them to Thursday's ceremony.

She says her mom's death showed her all she needed to know. The way Billie sees it, they "chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother's death." She recognizes they're entitled to do what they please, but adds it hurt her a lot when they did interviews and wrote books about Carrie soon after her 2016 death, without consulting or considering how it would affect her.

Billie bluntly says there's "no feud" between them because "we have no relationship." She says she made the decision to not include them on the Walk of Fame guest list to "break a cycle" -- and thinks their public complaints about missing the ceremony back her up.

As we reported, Todd told us it was "heartbreaking" he was left off the guest list ... and he joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to tell us more about why he should've been included.

Billie responded just a couple hours after Todd's interview.

Carrie's sisters -- Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher -- called out Billie, calling their disinvite "deeply shocking."

Billie clearly doesn't care, and is putting it all out on the table now.

Joel Embiid's first Most Valuable Player selection just got a lot sweeter ... 'cause his Sixers teammate, James Harden, gifted him a Rolex in honor of the award!!

The Philadelphia center beat out former MVP winners Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo for the nod Tuesday night ... and when the man of the hour showed up at the arena to take on the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Beard came bearing gifts.

Embiid was clearly thrilled over the gesture ... thanking Harden and hugging it out in the tunnel after receiving the expensive watch.

What's funny -- the timepiece didn't fit the 7'0" giant's hand ... but Uno assured the MVP he'll hook him up with some more links soon.

The watch also has a special message engraved on the back ... which reads "'23 MVP."

Embiid -- who said it is his first Rolex -- couldn't help but show off his gift with reporters earlier Wednesday ... smiling as he put it in front of the cameras.

If Embiid suits up for Philly in a few hours (he's been out with a knee sprain), and the watch gives him a bit more motivation, it could be bad news for the Cs -- 'cause the Sixers are currently leading the series, 1-0.

Missy Elliott is basking in yet another historic moment in her storied career ... as the first female rapper inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame!!!

The Misdemeanor couldn't contain her excitement on Wednesday when the news broke ... admitting she's been crying tears of joy all morning as she thanked the committee.

Missy feels the honor will kick down barriers for other women in hip hop culture to get noticed by the Rock Hall, but it'll take a lot of talent and hard work to match the veteran artist's career catalog.

After getting her start producing alongside Timbaland and writing for Diddy, Ginuwine, and the late Aaliyah, she released 5 consecutive platinum albums that still impact music to this day.

The Spinners, Chaka Khan (via the Musical Excellence Award) and Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello's Rage Against the Machine also got the nod on Wednesday -- but sadly, for deep-rooted hip hop fans, A Tribe Called Quest will NOT be joining the fold ... after getting the cold shoulder for the 2nd year in a row.

We reached out to ATCQ reps to see if they even care!!!

Consequence is buggin' out over A Tribe Called Quest's 2nd consecutive snub from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and says he and the group won't be disrespected a third time!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Cons Wednesday as he stood outside the famed ATCQ mural in Queens, NY ... on the group's Linden Boulevard stomping grounds.

The veteran rapper acknowledged the newest inductees -- including a history-making Missy Elliott -- but blasted the HOF committee for embarrassing the group's legacy, and seems to feel a bit of race-baiting is at play ... with ATCQ dangling on the hook.

Cons also took exception with Billboard's take that Tribe needs to make a bigger fuss to get the committee's rock-minded and majorly white voting base on its side.

Always the team player, Cons tells us he's willing to lead any public campaign necessary to secure the Rock Hall nod and will go to bat for his cousin Q-Tip and the late Phife Dawg any day of the year.

Carrie Fisher's brother won't be the only family member missing at the late actress' Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony -- her sisters, Joely, and Tricia Leigh Fisher say they too weren't invited -- blaming the snub on their niece, Carrie's daughter, Billie Lourd.

Joely and Tricia took to Instagram on Wednesday with a joint statement, "In response to all of you asking whether or not we will be part of the celebration ... Strangely we won’t be in attendance to celebrate our sister, whom we adored."

They continued, "For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister’s career. This is something Carrie would have definitely wanted her siblings to be present for. The fact that her only brother and two sisters were intentionally and deliberately excluded is deeply shocking. We have all been grieving the loss of our favorite human for some years now…we have given Billie the space to do that in her own way. We have been nothing but loving and open, consistently."

They ended the post by saying ... "This isn’t about a photo op on Hollywood Blvd…this is about celebrating the permanency of Carrie’s legacy in this industry, taking her place with a star on the iconic Walk of Fame alongside our parents. We thank the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for honoring our sister in this way. May the Fourth Be with you Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher".

As we reported, Carrie's only brother Todd Fisher -- son of late singer Eddie Fisher and Late actress Debbie Reynolds -- told us he was heartbroken he was intentionally omitted from attending the ceremony... adding he was the one who got the ball rolling for Carrie to get her star.

Todd says Disney told him Carrie's family was in charge of the final guest list, and they had filled all the 30 seats given ... adding he was told not to stress Billie Lourd over the whole ordeal.

Kelsea Ballerini's CMT Music Awards performance with drag queens had social media, and some country music fans, up in arms -- but, turns out, it was barely a blip on the FCC's radar.

You'll recall, the country singer had 4 queens from "RuPaul's Drag Race" share the stage with her at this year's awards ceremony -- and she was facing a lot of online backlash for involving them in her number.

However, TMZ has obtained the complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission regarding Kelsea's moment ... and there were only two. For comparison, the FCC received 103 complaints about Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show.

One came from Texas, complaining about "drag queens on a family show." The other came from Alaska, saying children shouldn't be exposed to drag, adding ... "We are no longer able to watch this station. We have children in our home that have no business being exposed to this filth."

As we reported, sources told us Kelsea stood by her performance despite all the flak she caught for it. We're told the appearances were fully planned, and it was Kelsea's idea to call in the drag backup.