Awards / Awards Shows

Bebe Rexha might not be your regular Grammy darling -- but she doesn't need any of the trophies to confirm the most important thing in this biz ... namely, people love her music.

Here's the deal ... BR has three songs that have now broken a billion streams each -- including her hit with G-Eazy, "Me, Myself & I" -- which clearly means fans dig the content and then some -- but as Bebe herself noted, she doesn't have the hardware to prove it.

That's what we talked to her about this week at LAX ... where we asked why she thought the numbers don't necessarily translate to awards, even when the consensus among listeners is overwhelming.

Watch what she had to say ... in Bebe's eyes, there's a lot more at play behind the scenes when it comes to collecting accolades -- including politics and money, and it sounds like she thinks her music, for whatever reason, doesn't sway the powers that be.

No matter, though ... 'cause Bebe tells us she's got everything she needs to be happy -- including enough dough to take care of her family, and the love and support of her label/team ... not to mention her adoring fans, which is all that matters to her.

Great perspective here, and it might actually be a trickling down philosophy courtesy of Champagne Papi ... who's been snubbed many a time at award shows.

Floyd Mayweather may not be WBC champ anymore ... but his face will forever be part of the organization's famous green championship belt, 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the undefeated fighter's portrait was permanently added to the strap.

WBC prez Mauricio Sulaiman tells us the World Boxing Council has permanently added Mayweather's portrait to every future belt ... joining Muhammad Ali.

The belt above is Tyson Fury's ... hence why the Gypsy King is on the strap.

Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis -- both great former WBC champs -- also have their portraits on the heavyweight belts (other divisions have other legendary fighters).

The belt also features a photograph of José Sulaiman ... Mauricio's late dad.

Of course, the WBC is one of the 4 major organizations (IBF, WBA, WBO) that sanction professional boxing matches.

In other words, being WBC champ is a big deal ... and having your face on the belt for the rest of time is absolutely awesome.

Why Floyd? Well, he held WBC belts across multiple weight classes for many years ... and at 50-0, is regarded as one of the greatest boxers ever.

Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle both grabbed Grammy noms -- despite their individual battles with "cancel culture" -- a signal maybe "canceling" people is on the wane.

The Academy announced its picks Tuesday ... Louis received a nom for Best Comedy Album and Chappelle for Best Spoken Word Album. Of course, Twitter was quick to react, mostly full of people who have had it up to HERE with C.C.

One user wrote, "Louis CK just got nominated for a Grammy, in case people wanted to keep clutching their pearls about the long-term effects of cancel culture." Another said, "only one grammy nom each for dave chappelle, kevin hart, and louis CK!! cancel culture strikes again!!"

It was back in 2017 when Louis C.K. admitted to exposing himself and masturbating in front of women or during phone convos. We saw a glimpse that things were turning around for him when he got a standing ovation at a show in 2019 before COVID closed venues across the country.

As we reported ... Dave's had his recent share of controversy as well -- especially from some in the LGBTQ+ community -- after his most recent Netflix special, "The Closer" almost entirely was centered around transgender and gay people.

Iman Shumpert is a champion once again ... and just like coming back from a 3-1 lead, it was a shocking upset win.

The former Cavs guard -- who made history when he became the first former pro hoops player to advance to the finals of "Dancing with the Stars" last week -- took home the Mirror Ball trophy with his partner, Daniella, after a freestyle dance that had all of social media talking.

It was a nail-biter 'til the end ... and a lot of folks thought Siwa was going to take it all. But, there can only be one winner, and it was the 6'5" hooper crowned champ.

Shumpert is the first NBA player to ever win it all ... joining other pro athletes like Emmitt Smith, Shawn Johnson, Hines Ward and more who have come in first.

Shump's fellow Cavs champ LeBron James gave a big shoutout to Iman after the win ... saying, "Congrats bro!! That's so (fire emoji)"

As we previously reported, Iman's wife, Teyana Taylor told us before the show the NBAer had an advantage after spending countless hours at her dance rehearsals -- and it clearly paid off!!

Shumpert tasted victory in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers ... becoming the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win it all.

Jennifer Lopez was in bridal mode this weekend, and although it was probably more PR than where her heart is at the moment -- it had to get Ben Affleck's attention!!!

J Lo was one of several solo acts Sunday at the American Music Awards, and her wardrobe choice was interesting ... opting for a full-on wedding dress, complete with an elaborate veil.

She did a quick outfit change while singing "On My Way" from her new feature film, "Marry Me" -- which is all about her getting hitched to Owen Wilson -- so, the dress was clearly intended to plug the upcoming movie.

Still, it could be seen in another light ... especially considering how well things are going between her and Ben. They've been public for about 6 months now, and are never too far apart from each other for too long.

With that in mind -- you could totally see this bride's showcase as a hint to something more. And, when you consider what Jen told the Today Show just last week about the possibility of getting hitched again ... all the more reason to believe she's ready for marriage #4.

She told Carson Daly -- when asked about the prospect of walking down the aisle anew -- that she wouldn't rule it out, y'know ... seeing how she's a classic romantic and all.

Age ain't nothing but a number -- and 105-year-old runner Julia Hawkins is full proof of that after setting a world record in the 100-meter dash run in her age group!!

Hawkins -- better known as Hurricane -- made history with a 1:02:95 time in the race at the 2021 Louisiana Senior Games last weekend.

Hawkins is the first female track and field athlete and American to set the 100-meter record in her 105+ age group.

"The older you get, the more passions you ought to have," Hawkins told USA Today, "Keeping active is one of my most important passions."

"I believe in magic moments, thinking of things that you see and do and feel that more than just usual. They're absolutely out of this world, they're so unusual. And wonderful."

Hawkins added, "Every time I race it's a magic moment."

This isn't the first time Hawkins has made history on the track --- in 2017, she ran the fastest 100-meter for age group 100-104 in the National Seniors Games.

"People say that they want to be just like me when they grow up... And I think if I can please people and give them hope, then it's worth living longer."

The former middle school teacher got into the sport when she was 100 ...  after her four kids registered her shortly after she gave up 8-10 years of biking ... and she loves it.

"When I started running, I found it was a pleasure. I enjoyed doing it," Hawkins said.

"I felt that would be a neat challenge to run the 100 [meter] dash, at 100, in under a minute."

The Louisiana games is a qualifier for the National Senior Games in Florida in May 2022 -- and Hawkins is still debating if she'll go this year.

LL Cool J isn't just receiving his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he's also giving back to the org by donating something special ... with horsepower to spare.

You might've seen clips of the Queens-born rapper doing his thing on stage when he got the huge honor this past weekend, but what you didn't see is LL hooking up the HOF with a red Audi that's near and dear to his heart.

The whip was featured on the cover of his second album, "BAD" -- which came out in 1987 -- and LL sought out the help of custom auto body shop Unique Rides in NYC to restore it for the Hall.

The shop's owner, Will Castro, tells TMZ ... LL approached him about this last year during the pandemic, asking if the UR crew could help him out.

Little back story on the ride -- it was one of LL's first big purchases after signing his initial Def Jam record deal ... which explains why he held on to it after all these years. Castro says it was being stored at LL's grandma's house in NYC for nearly 3 decades!!!

He says it was in pretty bad shape -- it's an '87 Audi 5000, after all, and as you can see, it was pretty torn up from the inside out.

We're told the tweaks made include ... new bodywork, a fresh paint job, installing a custom 2-tone black leather interior with red piping, a full stereo system with Blaupunkt cassette deck (truly old school), amps and subs, red lighting, putting in OG BBS wheels and a full engine rebuild.

Morgan Wallen deserves the opportunity to prove he's a changed man ... at least according to Shawn Stockman, who says the country star's probably not the only one guilty of casually using racial slurs.

That might come off as a very backhanded compliment, but the Boyz II Men singer was genuinely calling for the music biz to let up off Morgan ... when we talked to him Thursday at LAX.

As we reported, the American Music Awards banned Morgan from attending their ceremony next month, even though he's nominated in 2 categories. Shawn thinks the move is purely about optics, but adds ... at some point they gotta "let the man live" and show he's grown up and learned from his mistakes.

Speaking of mistakes ... Shawn says the industry needs to stop pretending Morgan is the only country star who's used the n-word the way he did earlier this year. Watch the clip ... Shawn was laughing as he broached the delicate subject, but only half-joking.

The Country Music Association has also yanked Morgan from the guestlist for its award show next month, but Shawn's calling for more forgiveness in the world.

Not everyone's ready to forgive Morgan Wallen ... the country music superstar is being blocked from the American Music Awards, even though he'll likely win a couple of the trophies.

The award show announced Thursday it's barring Morgan from attending this year's show due to that video showing him using the n-word. Reps for the show said, "As his conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity."

Here's the thing, though ... AMA nominees are determined purely by Billboard Chart performance, and despite the backlash against him most of the year, Morgan's album has dominated sales. That's why he's still nominated for 2 AMAs -- favorite country album and favorite male country artist.

It's unclear how producers of the award show will handle it in the likely event Morgan wins one or both categories. Remember, the winners are determined purely by fan votes ... and we know Morgan's fans have stood firm behind him all year.

Morgan has issued an apology, and did an interview with GMA back in July saying he'd been working on himself. The AMA reps say they'll "evaluate his progress in doing meaningful work as an ally to the Black community and will consider his participation in future shows."

The Chicago Sky got a presidential surprise after celebrating their WNBA Finals win -- getting a phone call from Barack Obama!!

#44 -- who's a HUGE hoops fan -- hit up the Sky right after the festivities in downtown Chicago on Tuesday via speakerphone ... and naturally, they were stoked!!

"I just want to let you know that Michelle, Malia, Sasha and Barack are all proud, as Chicagoans, to have world champs in our neighborhood," Obama said.

"I saw you guys ball out! I saw Parker doin' Candace Parker things. I saw those hot-shooting point guards and I saw [Kahleah] Copper going to the basket."

BO ain't lying. In fact, Copper -- who was named WNBA Finals MVP -- averaged 17.7 points per game during the playoffs along with Parker's 13.8 points and 8.4 rebounds.

And, this W hits different for Parker ... it's her second title, but the first for her hometown of Chicago.

"I know it's special for you, Candace, bringing the trophy back home," Obama said. "So, thank you for bringing some joy to the city."

"What an amazing team effort and I could not be prouder of you guys!"

Bubba Wallace had to fight back tears Monday after he won his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race ... getting emotional thinking about how he's the first Black driver to accomplish the feat since 1963.

The 27-year-old took home the victory after rain forced the YellaWood 500 to end early at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama ... and it didn't take long for Wallace to realize how big the moment was for him.

Wallace went crazy with his team seconds after NASCAR called it -- hugging friends and letting out loud yells of joy.

Eventually, Wallace was interviewed on the scene ... and he nearly cried after he was asked about being the first Black driver to win since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott did it in 1963.

"Yeah, I never think about those things and when you say it like that, it obviously brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends," Wallace said. "It's pretty damn cool. Just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series."

The historical win (which is also Michael Jordan's first win as co-owner of 23XI Racing), comes 16 months after Wallace's team believed they found a noose in their garage at the same racetrack.

Wallace spoke about the significance of that ... saying, "This is to all those kids that want to have an opportunity in whatever they want to achieve and be the best at what they want to do."

"You're going to go through a lot of bulls*** but you always got to stay true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you."

Wallace added, "Stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry. There's been plenty of times where I wanted to give up. And, you surround yourself with the right people and it's moments like this that you appreciate."

Jason Sudeikis and Kate Winslet know the only one way to celebrate bringing home a shiny, wing-woman trophy is to hit up the after-parties ... with that Emmy in hand, of course.

Jason and Kate were among the throng of celebs who kept the night going after the Emmys were awarded. Jason ended up at the famed Sunset Tower in L.A. ... and looked pretty damn sharp rocking his Tom Ford tux.

He snapped selfies with fans before going inside. Jason won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on the hilarious Apple TV+ series, "Ted Lasso." The series also won for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Anya Taylor-Joy didn't let getting snubbed at the Emmys for her role in "The Queen's Gambit" bring her down ... she was also at Sunset Tower partying it up.

About a mile or so down the road ... Kate hit up the San Vicente Bungalows in WeHo with her hubby, Abel Smith. She looked pretty stoked carrying around her statue after winning the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category for HBO's "Mare of Easttown." The Weeknd also joined the Bungalows celebration.

If an awards show isn't followed up by a slew of celebs hitting up afterparties all over town ... is it even an awards show at all???

Attendees at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards made the night official by celebrating around NYC afterward ... with events hosted by the likes of Travis Scott, Dave Chappelle and Doja Cat.

Other celebs spotted toasting to success included Justin and Hailey Bieber, Madonna, Pete Davidson and the night's big winner -- Lil Nas X, who won Video of the Year for "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)."

There was also a couple's dinner sighting, as MGK and Megan Fox shared a "future baby daddies" meal at Cipriani with Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian ... before MGK and company made it over to Chappelle's party at Lure.

As you'd expect, Dave's event had major star appeal with Colin Jost, Dave Grohl and Jon Hamm joining the festivities.

Katie Nageotte better brush up on her French ... 'cause the Team USA pole vaulter tells TMZ Sports she's hoping to defend her gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris!!

30-year-old Nageotte shocked the world by edging out Russian Olympic Committee world champ Anzhelika Sidorova on her third attempt of the event earlier this month ... after failing on her first two tries.

She ended up crushing it at 4.90 meters ... with Sidorova taking silver at 4.85.

The Ohio native has received praise from Cleveland stars like Jake Paul and Bernie Kosar following the awesome success story ... as well as other celebs including Katie Couric.

Despite her rising popularity, Katie tells us it still hasn't really set in that she's the greatest in the world ... but she won't have much more time to dwell on it -- because she's already competing again at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.

A few weeks later, she's got the Diamond League Final in Zurich, Switzerland ... and then it's FINALLY time for a well-deserved break!!

She tells us she made a deal with her trainer that if the Olympics went well -- which they definitely did! -- she'd be able to have a few weeks off to do whatever she wants!!

But, Nageotte ain't ready to hang up the vaulting pole just yet -- she says as long as she stays healthy, she'll be ready to go for gold again in Paris!!

Jake Paul was so amazed by all the U.S. women in the 2020 Olympics, he's personally inviting one to his Tyron Woodley fight -- pole vaulter and fellow Ohioan Katie Nageotte!!!

Paul took a second to show love for all the U.S women who competed at the Tokyo Games on Twitter Monday ... congratulating the American ladies on their "amazing stats."

"U.S. women won 66 medals, comprising a record 58.4% of the American total ... that’s insane!!," the YouTube superstar said.

Of the 66 medals, 23 were gold ... one belonging to Nageotte.

The 30-year-old won it all in the pole vault after clearing a 4.90 meter on her second attempt ... making her the third woman in U.S. Olympics to win the gold in the event.

Nageotte also happens to be from Northeast Ohio -- just like Paul -- and he's inviting her to come watch him box in the ring against Woodley in The Land.

"Katie if you are reading this I hope you will come to my fight in Cleveland as my guest on August 29th!"

Nageotte noticed the invite and retweeted the post ... so maybe we'll see her front and center rocking the gold at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

BTW -- Nageotte channeled her inner LeBron James after her big moment ... saying, "Cleveland, this is for you!!!"

Simone Biles faced incredible pressure at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ... and by overcoming the stressful situation, she'll now be a strong advocate for mental health, according to Dominique Dawes.

Dawes -- a gymnastics icon with 4 Olympic medals -- applauds the 24-year-old for stepping back when she needed to ... telling TMZ Sports Biles was doing "what was right for her mentally as well as for her physically."

"It didn’t matter about having to prove fans wrong or prove the federation wrong or whatever it is, and you know, listen to what those around her are telling her what she should do."

Of course, Biles withdrew from competition last week after dealing with a mental block and "twisties" ... which she explained is when your mind and body don't connect while performing.

Dawes continued ... "But yet, she at 24 was mature enough to know, hey this is not a healthy environment for me to participate in right now."

Biles did recover ... and won the bronze in the balance beam finals on Tuesday -- her 7th Olympic medal (which ties for the most by a female American gymnast).

"She gave herself the time that she needed," Dominique tells us, "and then was able to get back out there and shine and that’s exactly what she did."

Dawes says mental health issues have been more openly talked about in sports over the last few years ... and Biles is now carrying the torch.

"It started with Michael Phelps and Naomi Osaka and it will continue with Simone Biles."

"I know when she comes back to the States she’s going to be a strong advocate for mental health.

We also asked the gold medalist what advice she has for Biles now that the Olympics are over and done with.

"Just enjoy and bask in this moment, and really work on her healing."