Music

Kat Von D ain't happy Linkin Park's moved on from Chester Bennington ... saying bands who lose their lead singer shouldn't try to replace them -- and questioning if putting a woman on the mic is a gimmick.

The tattoo artist and TV personality stopped by "The Sailor Jerry" podcast ... where the host Matt Caughthran asked her about the band recently adding Emily Armstrong as their lead singer.

Kat -- a close friend of Chester, who passed away in 2017 -- says she thinks it's dumb when bands hire new lead singers 'cause they can't capture the magic of the original. She points to The Doors replacing Jim Morrison after his death ... a move she never understood.

Hilary Duff may have a number of chart-topping hits on her resume, but her kids are all about another pop star these days ... 2024's breakout sensation, Chappell Roan.

We caught up with the former Disney Channel star at LAX, where she confessed her kids are the ones controlling the music in her home ... quipping that she exists to keep the peace as a mom of four.

She added ... "It's not about me anymore. I never get to listen to what I want. Just trying to alleviate the fights."

10/11 5:32 AM PT -- Dr. Charles Sophy's attorney, Christopher Frost, tells TMZ ... "All mental health professionals work with individuals and families at their most vulnerable and emotionally challenging times of their lives. However, threatening and harassing someone as a means to express one’s emotions is an unacceptable behavior that the world at large cannot tolerate. Unfortunately, Mr. Young’s recent conduct since the filing of the complaint only perpetuates his chosen consistent pattern of behavior. This dispute is about his consistent pattern of negative and abusive behavior and nothing else."

Dr. Dre's firing back against his former psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Sophy, a day after the shrink filed a lawsuit against the music mogul ... claiming Sophy tried to turn Dre's own son against him.

In a legal letter obtained by TMZ -- sent back in February, 2023 -- Dr. Dre's lawyer, Howard King, rips into Sophy, claiming the doc committed malpractice and breached his duty of trust.

King expressed a similar sentiment to TMZ in response to Sophy filing his lawsuit Wednesday, accusing Dre of threatening him -- however, the letter paints a more serious picture of the alleged havoc wreaked by Sophy.

Before this adorable little girl in the tub turned into a beauty queen and singer, she was just growing up in Westchester County New York with her younger brother and being raised in a musical household.

She went on to study jazz and classical dance, and she also played the violin, french horn and piano. After winning Miss Syracuse and Miss New York in 1983, she became the first black woman to win the Miss America pageant in 1984.

Some of her popular tunes include "Dreamin," "He's Got The Look" and "The Right Stuff."

Taylor Swift's not the only person making big money while performing ... 'cause even a T-Swift impersonator is raking in the dough -- saying she makes nearly $20K per performance.

Olivia Mojica -- a singer who shares starkly similar features to the pop star, and leads the Blank Space Tribute Band -- stopped by TMZ's "Swift-Tea Podcast" Thursday ... telling us she actually quit her day job because she's making so much tributing Swift.

Of course, we had to ask how much money she's been able to shake off during her performances ... and, she told us the most the band has made for one appearance is $18K.

El Taiger -- the Reggaeton star who was found shot in the head in Miami last week -- has died ... according to a statement posted to his Instagram.

According to the IG post, written in Spanish, El Taiger -- born José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar -- passed away Thursday afternoon. The announcement thanked fans for their prayers over the last week as they all hoped for a miracle.

The statement says that El Taiger is now reunited with his mother in heaven ... and, the rest of his family thanks the medical staff at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for doing everything they could to save the star.

Federal prosecutors fired back at Diddy’s attorney in court Thursday, saying he wrongfully accused them of racially profiling their famous client in the TMZ documentary “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment.”

In our September documentary, Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the feds were pursuing the criminal case against his client as a “takedown of a successful Black man.”

Agnifilo had said the feds couldn't nail Diddy for anything related to taxes or his business empire ... so they started poking around in his bedroom. In a grand jury indictment, the feds charged Diddy with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

3:50 PM PT -- Shortly after we broke the story, TraxNYC hopped on IG and copped a plea to 50 Cent ... requesting 50 drop the suit in good faith!!!

The way Trax sees things, holy crosses represent forgiveness and thinks all this legality is completely unnecessary.

We might be too far gone for bygones ... 50 has responded and says he's still gonna need that payout first thing on Monday!!!

50 Cent has zero tolerance for a jeweler allegedly using his name and face to sell knockoffs of his famous chain, insisting he's never bought jewelry from TraxNYC, or allowed it to capitalize on his fame.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained docs Thursday ... with Fif suing Maksud Agadjani and his TraxNYC Corp. for trademark infringement and violating his right of publicity. The G-Unit rapper believes Trax's string of TikTok posts about him are misleading consumers into thinking he's affiliated with the imitation trinkets.

Just a few days ago, Trax posted a pic of 50 and Drake together and proceeded to show off an array of shiny crucifixes and captioned the post, "Yo @50 Cent , you should be a jeweler. Hit traxnyc.com or call 212 traxnyc."

And, in an August TikTok post, Trax offered up a cross similar to one 50 was wearing saying, "We just jocked your style, I know you watch my videos and now I'm watching your s**t and jocking your s**t just like you jocked my s**t."

50 previously warned Trax on IG his antics would land him in hot water, and now he wants a judge to stop Trax in his tracks, and make him pay up at least $5 million in damages.

A rep for 50 tells TMZ Hip Hop, "Mr. Jackson takes the unauthorized use of his name and likeness for commercial purposes seriously.

The rep adds ... when 50 made it clear he was not pleased, Trax doubled down, replying, "Don’t you got better things to worry about."

Well, now it's TraxNYC that has a lawsuit to worry about.

Elle King’s relationship with her dad, Rob Schneider, has had its ups and downs, and now she’s spilling the tea on where they stand, especially after his recent public apology.

We caught up with Elle in NYC on Wednesday, and she was super clear -- she accepted her dad’s apology ages ago and is all about moving forward from their family drama.

Pregnant Elle, already a proud mom to son Lucky, also emphasized that her main focus right now is on motherhood and just soaking up all the happiness that comes with it.

Kate Middleton is back at her royal duties ... visiting the community center where three children were stabbed to death during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

The Princess of Wales stopped by the Southport Community Centre Thursday to speak with members of emergency services ... looking solemn as she and her husband, Prince William, chatted with several attendees.

KM wore a dark brown overcoat with a maroon dress underneath spotted with white polka dots ... matching her man in his gray blazer and maroon sweater combo.

Kanye West is being sued by a man claiming to be his former director of intelligence ... who has alleged the rapper ordered him to orchestrate investigations into both wife Bianca Censori and former in-laws, the Kardashians.

In new court documents obtained by TMZ ... the man -- who is suing anonymously as John Doe -- claims the rapper never paid him for work done over several pay periods and caused him emotional distress.

Per the lawsuit, in December 2022, Ye had initially hired the staffer to be his campaign manager for his presidential run ... but later reworked his role to be Yeezy's "Director of Intelligence."

Ice-T's longstanding metal-rap band Body Count just hit the wall -- with a new music video covering Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" classic record featuring the band's very own David Gilmour!!!

Their visual, directed by Jay Scorsese, was released on Thursday, highlighting Ice-T laying down bars in the studio and Gilmour making magic with the guitar.

Ice-T raps about the pitfalls of substance abuse as scenes of distress and drug addiction are scattered throughout the video.

J. Cole shocked the Internet late Wednesday night by breaking his silence on what became of the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef after erasing his own diss track from history ... the motto is love, not war!!!

On the song "Port Antonio," J. Cole takes 5 minutes addressing his POV as Drake and Kendrick went at each other's throats on songs like "Push-Ups," "Meet The Grahams," "Family Matters" and "Not Like Us."

The North Carolina-bred rap star blasts hip hop's current social media, beef-driven state and explains cutting his Kendrick diss song "7 Minute Drill" from streaming services was his way of safekeeping the greater peace.

Dove Cameron said "au revoir" to Paris by posting a racy mirror selfie ... in which she left little to the imagination.

The singer closed out her trip to the City of Light by sharing on Instagram a number of intimate photos from her getaway, including one selfie where the former Disney Channel star went totally topless.

The upload has already caused quite a stir, garnering nearly a million likes in under an hour.

A new opera in Germany has people yelling out for the Lord ... 'cause the show, filled with naked nuns roller-skating and explicit sex scenes, reportedly left 18 people needing medical assistance.

"Sancta" -- adapted by controversial Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger from an early 20th-century show titled "Sancta Susanna" -- opened just a few days ago ... and, check out the trailer 'cause we can almost guarantee you've never seen anything like this.

This show has everything ... apart from the naked nuns roller skating, it also has performers suspended by hooks as fake blood pours over them, explicit lesbian sex scenes -- there's even a part in the show where Jesus reportedly performs songs by Eminem. All this, and more, is in the trailer.