Music

Denzel Washington is reminiscing about his days working with Whitney Houston -- saying he saw past her tough exterior and felt a deep need to cushion her from life's harsh blows.

At the American Black Film Festival, host Chaz Ebert echoed Denzel's observation about the late star's vulnerability on the set of the 1996 comedy, "The Preacher's Wife." Denzel, surprised his need to protect Whitney was obvious for all to see, asked, "You really got that?"

As Chaz confirmed it was, Denzel nodded knowingly, "Well, of course" -- adding, "I always felt like I wanted to protect her. You know? She wanted to be so tough, but she really wasn't. That's all. Okay."

Celine Dion felt the power of love at the premiere for the new documentary about her health battle ... as the singer fought back tears while taking a moment in the spotlight.

The singer was met with an abundance of applause while taking the stage at the NYC premiere of "I Am: Celine Dion" ... causing Celine to get a bit emotional while addressing the audience.

Celine -- whose struggle with Stiff-Person Syndrome forced her to step back from performing -- took a moment to thank those who've been on this health journey with her ... including her doctor, Dr. Amanda Piquet, and her children, René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy.

Jennifer Lopez needs to pull a Beyoncé and go country -- that is, if she wants her career to avoid the same end as her marriage to Ben Affleck ... so says an industry vet.

Jon Peters -- who produced Jen's 1995 film, "Money Train" -- has a plan of action for the triple-threat star to rake in $$$ after she blew through millions on her wedding and $60M house -- and he details it all in TMZ's new Hulu doc -- 'JLo & Ben: Missed Warning Signs.'

Jon thinks Jen could easily pivot into the country music scene -- getting assistance from the likes of Shania Twain and other legends in the game, whom he thinks would welcome JLo with open arms. Ditto for the Grand Ole Opry, according to him.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's mega-mansion sale is sparking debate in L.A.'s luxury real estate market ... and TMZ's got insight from both sides on whether it's worth the price tag.

As we first told you ... Ben and Jen are looking to offload their $60 million Bev Hills home for a cool $65 mil -- and while some have scoffed at the asking price behind closed doors ... others have told us it's actually a Goldie Locks number ... meaning it's just right.

Benjamin Bacal -- from Revel Real Estate, who reps high-end clients in L.A. -- tells us $65M is perfect for asking ... as he feels it fits the home's scope/scale. He tells us ... if it's good enough for A-listers like Ben and Jen, then it's good enough for anyone.

Carrie Underwood and her family must feel pretty relieved right about now ... 'cause they managed to escape a house fire in their Tennessee home over the holiday weekend.

A rep for the country singer tells TMZ ... "There was a fire on the property on Sunday night, which was quickly contained. There was no fire damage to the primary residence, and the family and their pets were unharmed."

According to Williamson County & Fire, several crews were dispatched to the residence just before 10 PM on Sunday evening -- Father's Day -- after a fire started in Carrie and husband Mike Fisher's garage. The responders were able to put out the fire relatively quickly thanks to a 10,000-gallon water tank ... which was located on the singer's estate.

Young Thug feels he can't have a fair trial until the judge presiding over his case is promptly removed ... and he just filed the necessary paperwork to make it happen, officially.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained new court docs filed by Young Thug's lawyers on Monday -- calling for the outright disqualification and/or recusal of Judge Ural D. Glanville ... who's been handling his criminal case in Atlanta.

The incarcerated rap star's reasoning is about the same as that of his attorney Brian Steel -- who was held in contempt recently for questioning whether the judge had possibly engaged in misconduct.

Steve-O got his first face tattoo, and if anyone calls him d**kface ... well, he can blame Post Malone for drawing a penis on his mug.

The "Jackass" star enlisted Posty for his first face tat, getting inked up on camera as he prepares to go on his cross-country comedy tour.

Check out the video ... Steve-O is in obvious pain as Post draws a big penis and balls over Steve-O's right eyebrow. Hey, no pain, no gain.

Michael Rainey Jr. is trying to get beyond the groping he suffered during an interview ... so says his "Power Book II: Ghost" costar LaToya Tonodeo, who also thinks the unsavory moment can be a teachable moment for EVERYONE!!!

LaToya caught up with TMZ Hip Hop at LAX, where she assured us MRJ was all good after seeing him on set again.

They're currently wrapping up the final season of their series, which is why MRJ went on "The Tylil Show" -- he was there to promote 'Power,' but instead, the host's sister appeared to grab Michael's private parts on camera.

LaToya echoed Michael's statements that sexual assault affects all genders of people and shouldn't be tolerated no matter what.

50 Cent also walked back his initial reaction to the live stream debacle -- which he originally called no big deal -- and LaToya tells us working with him has been a life-changing experience.

Chrisean Rock getting arrested last week has already ended with her getting sentenced -- and she's gonna be doing some jail time ... not to mention having to answer to Oklahoma.

According to court records, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Chrisean was sentenced to 12 months probation and 30 days in jail as a result of the altercation that happened at Tamar Braxton's show in November ... when she was alleged to have attacked backup dancer James Wright.

As it turns out, there was an open warrant pertaining to that ... and now, she'll be behind bars for a bit -- although, she is getting 5 days of credit for time served.

Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour has seemingly lost its luster, 'cause Swifties are now roasting their idol ... specifically, over her attempts to cut a rug on the big stage.

The Grammy winner's dance moves are being called out online -- all because of a viral clip that captures Tay Tay swiveling her hips like it's 1958 ... this while she was doing one of her big concerts in Edinburgh earlier this month and gyrating to her song "Fearless."

Watch ... Taylor is seen shaking her booty back and forth, in an attempt to highlight her fringe gold outfit. While TS was clearly having fun and just goofing around onstage, a good amount of her fans have digitally grimaced ... saying Taylor gives off granny vibes here.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are clearly headed for divorce, and some of the folks we've spoken with say one of the many reasons for the split -- JLo's "Love Addiction."

TMZ has a new documentary on Hulu -- 'JLo & Ben: Missed Warning Signs' -- in which Dr. Phil, Dr. Drew, Psychotherapist Dr. Jenn Mann and others say there are lots of reasons this relationship just didn't work.

One of the people with whom we spoke is Jon Peters, the mega-producer of movies like "Flashdance" and "Prince of Tides," who has a history of both dating famous people -- including Barbra Streisand -- and addiction.

Diddy's family made sure to let him know he was loved and appreciated on Father's Day -- this after most of Hollywood turned their back on him amid his legal woes.

His brood littered their IG account with throwback pics this weekend -- with his twins, D'Lila and Jessie, gushing "Happy Fathers Day to the best dad in the worldddddddd. We love u so much ❤️" ... while his son Justin Combs echoed "HAPPY FATHERS DAY POPS 💪🏾💙."

Chance Combs shared a B&W pic of her lying on her dad's chest as a little girl ... writing, "happy father's day! i love you endlessly."

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson are one and the same -- with the only difference being one of them beat the hell out of Rihanna ... so says Fat Joe.

In his latest IG Live session, FJ came with a bit of a hot take -- namely, arguing the only thing keeping Chris Brown from matching up with the King of Pop talent/music-wise is his infamous assault of his then-girlfriend ... something that's haunted him ever since.

Joe argued it's been 20 years since the Rihanna incident -- and that it's time to let it go and move on ... noting fans know CB is the best singer/dancer/performer since MJ.

Tinashe's new career chapter is catching the attention of her idols ... both Beyoncé and Janet Jackson went out of their way to show love to her debut solo hit!!!

On Sunday, Tinashe herself couldn't believe her eyes witnessing footage from Janet's "Together Again" tour that remixed Tinashe's "Nasty" with her own 1986 classic track.

Of course, Miss Janet is the original "Nasty" girl -- her song was released nearly 7 years before Tinashe was even born!!!

Sabrina Carpenter is chalking up the backlash she faced for appearing in Kim Kardashian's SKIMS campaign as a bunch of nonsense ... 'cause she made sure to loop in the Queen.

The singer addressed the hate she received from Taylor Swift's fans over the fashion campaign earlier this year in her new interview with Rolling Stone ... confirming she chose to not follow the drama online, and that's because she knew she hadn't betrayed anyone.

SC says ... "In that scenario, I’ve been very, very communicative with her about that situation, and I just love her so much and support her till the end. So it was no weirdness for me, but I know people will just say things because that’s all they have time to do.

Scooter Braun is hanging up his hat in the music management biz -- stepping away from handling A-listers' affairs personally ... and easing into a larger conglomerate as a mogul.

Hollywood's go-to manager-to-the-stars -- who's repped Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Kanye West, J Balvin, Lil Dicky, Ozuna and many, many others -- made a big announcement Monday ... namely, he's retiring from his main gig for the last several years.

SB acknowledges he's been in the game for 23 years, and points out that it all started with him managing an artist named Cato in Atlanta ... only for him to skyrocket from there.