Jessica Simpson couldn't deny the "Irresistible" urge to get back onstage ... 'cause she just had her first live performance in more than a decade -- and, she says she did it to remember what really inspires her.
The singer-songwriter and actress hit South by Southwest -- the popular film and music festival in Austin, Texas -- performing at the Recording Academy's Austin Chapter Block Party ... and, the event marked her first performance in 15 years.
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JS posted a clip before she hit the stage ... saying she felt excited and blessed to be performing again after her long hiatus.
Ben Affleckand Matt Damonappeared in high spirits as they chatted it up at the SXSW Film & TV Festival over the weekend for the premiere of Ben's new film "The Accountant 2."
The video says it all ... the longtime pals are seated next to one another as they laugh and smile while conversing. BA is quite animated as he pokes MD to get his point across.
Ben is grinning the entire time ... which -- as fans know -- comes infrequently. Nothing against the "Argo" star ... he even addressed his "resting bitch face"on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" back in 2023.
Ben Affleck is on top of the world lately -- making movies with his best bud, and having his wife star in films he's producing ... which he says is the pinnacle of success and happiness.
The actor-director sat down with CBS Sunday Morning for a chat about his new movie, "Air" which follows the story of Nike signing Michael Jordan to his legendary shoe deal ... and which just debuted at SXSW this weekend to rave reviews and thunderous applause.
CBS Sunday Morning
The film stars Ben and Matt Damon, and the reunion has truly had a shining effect on BA -- as you can tell in this interview. He talks about how chasing money in showbiz (or any biz, really) isn't the key to fulfillment, as he says he's found out.
Instead, he says he's realized that right now ... he's at his most joyous. That's because he loved coming to work for this "Air" flick -- hanging out with his childhood BFF and collaborating, seeing his kids more often and doing projects he's actually passionate about.
That brings the convo to Ben and Matt's new productions company -- Artists Equity -- which guarantees the ancillary crew members a bigger cut of the pie ... unlike traditional studios.
"Air" is AE's first movie (which is being distributed by Amazon) and they already have another sports biopic in the works ... which will star Jennifer Lopez. Ben addresses the apparent nepotism here in the interview ... and insists he got the best actors for the job, her included.
There's more in the full interview ... like what MJ himself wanted in terms of demands. One of those asks, as Ben shares, was that Viola Davis play his mom -- and she does.
Good to see Ben's in his element and doing what he wants. Dude's earned it!
Lil Yachty's crew got into a brawl at SXSW ... with themselves.
We got video of Yachty's bodyguard beating down a guy who is part of the rapper's entourage ... or at least he was. The fight went down Friday at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin.
The clip starts with punches being thrown and Yachty standing nearby and watching the action unfold.
Law enforcement sources tell us police responded to a disturbance at the Omni, and investigated a fight in the lobby. The dude who got crushed is reportedly Thouxanbanfauni, a rapper who's been Twitter beefing for days with Yachty.
For what it's worth ... another member of Yachty's crew tried to intervene, but ultimately hotel management had to break it up.
Tyler the Creator was arrested Saturday afternoon at an airport in Texas ... after cops say they had a warrant with his name on it -- for starting a riot at the SXSW festival.
Austin PD officials say Tyler was booked this afternoon for inciting a riot at his concert Thursday.
Cops released a video of the riot (below) -- and Tyler is clearly telling everyone to break down the barricade to get in. The scene is pretty scary.
As you may recall, Tyler's concert was cancelled the night before -- after a driver plowed into a crowd of people waiting to get in -- leaving 2 dead and 23 injured.
According to the warrant ... a bartender at the facility told police he tried protecting a woman from getting trampled on ... but a guy punched him in the face for it.
Demi Lovato -- who's struggled with an eating disorder for years -- says Lady Gaga's puking stunt at SXSW was despicable because it glamorizes a terrible disease in the name of art.
Lovato just laid a thick amount of shame on Gaga via Twitter ... saying "Sad ... As if we didn't have enough people glamorizing eat [sic] disorders already."
Demi adds, "Putting the word ART in it isn't a free card to do whatever you want without consequences."
One Twitter user quipped back ... Gaga has struggled with an eating disorder herself and spoke about it before the performance ... but Demi insists that doesn't give her a pass.
Lady Gaga's antics are sometimes vomit inducing, but this is ridiculous ... last night at her SXSW show, she actually let some chick VOMIT ALL OVER HER while she performed.
The vomiter is no amateur ... she's actually a "vomit painter" (actual profession) named Millie Brown, who is known for drinking various liquids and then vomiting them up onto a canvas. In this case ... the canvas was Lady Gaga.
Gaga was playing drums on a song called "Swine" when Brown, after drinking neon green liquid, proceeded to stand over her, stick her fingers down her throat, and vomit the green liquid all over Gaga.
Watch the performance for yourself ... it's sick. Literally.
Two people were killed and 23 more injured after a suspected drunk driver, who was trying to evade arrest, crashed through barricades set up for a South By Southwest event and ran over several people.
Five of the injured were listed as critical. The two that died were riding a moped that was hit by the motorist.
According to police, the driver then struck a cab before crashing. He then tried to flee on foot, but he was tracked down by an officer and shocked with a stun gun before being taken into custody.
Some of the victims were hit in front of The Mohawk, where Tyler the Creator was headlining.
The driver now faces two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.
