Emmy Awards

Lizzo presenting at the Grammys raised many eyebrows -- including those of the lawyer repping the backup dancers suing her, and he's claiming female privilege is the only reason she was there.

Neama Rahmani, who represents multiple Lizzo accusers, tells TMZ ... he's disappointed the singer was tapped to present the Best R&B Song award, and openly wonders why the Recording Academy would opt to give a platform to someone who allegedly sexually harassed her backup dancers.

Neama tells us he smells a double standard at play here -- noting that if a white man faced the same sort of sexual harassment, racism, and fat shaming allegations ... he doesn't think there's any way they'd be afforded the same opportunity Lizzo got.

Simply put ... Neama thinks the Grammys turning a blind eye to Lizzo's controversy is because she's a woman, and he's bummed they invited her amid the claims against her.

However, he remains confident the truth will come out when his clients prevail in the lawsuit -- a result he hopes will prompt the Recording Academy to start believing people who are brave enough to come forward against powerful celebrities.

FWIW ... Lizzo has outright denied these ex-backup dancers' allegations.

Still, many viewers at home shared Neama's shock at seeing Lizzo on stage -- with the sentiment being she's suffered zero consequences after the lawsuits ... which have not settled or gone to trial yet.

As we reported,. 3 of Lizzo's former dancers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez -- sued the singer in August 2023 for allegedly creating a hostile work environment.

Two months later, she was hit with a similar suit from a separate dancer.

Worth noting ... TMZ obtained legal docs in October, where 18 members of Lizzo's touring company wrote declarations standing with Lizzo, and disputing the claims made against her.

Storm Reid's at the top of her game in Hollywood -- especially after winning an Emmy -- but that doesn't make her above anyone else on campus ... yes, she's still in school!

We got the professional actress -- who just took some hardware in recent weeks -- at LAX Thursday ... she says despite bagging the Outstanding Guest Actress award in a Drama Series for her role in HBO's "The Last of Us," she's still treated the same at USC School of Dramatic Arts -- where she's studying drama/theater.

The obvious question is ... how are folks treating you after the Emmy win?!? As it turns out, Storm tells people are pretty regular with her -- and, apparently, just excited and proud of her, as they come up to congratulate her ... at least that's what Storm's saying.

Clearly, she's staying humble ... but we'll say -- it is fascinating that her shiny new accolade doesn't seem to change her dynamic between her theatre teachers, or her peers.

From this chat here ... you'd almost never know she was a decorated, pro actor!

With that said, Storm's pleased to be learning loads of new techniques from the acting curriculum ... which she's already implementing in her on-screen work.

The gist here is that she's very happy in her Hannah Montana era -- living the best of both worlds -- a Hollywood star and an average, everyday dorm-living college student.

Storm Reid está en la cima en Hollywood, especialmente después de ganar un Emmy, pero eso no la pone por encima de cualquier otra persona en el campus, sí, ella todavía está en la escuela.

Encontramos a la actriz en LAX el Jueves, ella dice que a pesar de haber ganado el premio a la Actriz Invitada Sobresaliente en una Serie Dramática por su papel en "The Last of Us" de HBO, todavía la tratan como a una estudiante más en USC School of Dramatic Arts, donde está estudiando teatro.

La pregunta obvia es... ¿Cómo te trata la gente después de ganar el Emmy? Resulta que Storm dice que la gente se ha comportado de forma bastante natural, y al parecer, están emocionados y orgullosos de ella ya que se acercan a felicitarla... al menos eso es lo que dice Storm.

Está claro que no pierde la humildad... pero es fascinante que su nuevo galardón no parezca cambiar la dinámica entre sus profesores de teatro o sus compañeros.

De esta charla... ¡No te darías cuenta de que es una actriz profesional condecorada!

Dicho esto, Storm está encantada de estar aprendiendo un montón de nuevas técnicas en el plan de estudios de actuación, que ya está aplicando en su trabajo en la pantalla.

Ella dice que está pasando por un período Hannah Montana, viviendo lo mejor de ambos mundos, una estrella de Hollywood y una chica promedio.

Se avecina una batalla por el Emmy póstumo de la estrella de telenovelas Sonya Eddy, y su familia distanciada está decidida a quitarle el trofeo a su amiga y socia productora.

Así es la cosa, Sonya murió a finales de 2022 y ganó un Emmy la semana pasada por su trabajo en "Hospital General", con su socio productor y amigo Tyler Ford aceptando el premio en su nombre.

Ahora, los miembros de la familia de Sonya quieren el premio en su poder y están enojados porque no se les ofreció recibirlo en primer lugar.

El hermano menor de Sonya, Robbie Eddy, le dice a TMZ que la Academia de Televisión no le dijo a su familia que iba a ganar un Emmy de antemano, y Tyler les ha dicho que va a mantener su trofeo.

Nos dicen que toda la familia de Sonya está ahora trabajando para conseguir el Emmy y le enviaron una carta a la Academia de Televisión.

Mientras la familia de Sonya espera una respuesta de la Academia, nos dicen que sienten que todo esto es una bofetada en la cara y que todavía están de duelo, y esta disputa está haciendo que el proceso sea más difícil. Además, los Emmys se celebraron unas semanas después del primer aniversario de su muerte.

El hermano de Sonya dice que la familia no tiene planes de emprender ningún tipo de acción legal contra Tyler o la Academia, no quieren manchar su memoria con una demanda, solo esperan que Tyler haga "lo correcto" y entregue su Emmy.

Si los Eddys consiguen el trofeo, nos dicen que la madre de 84 años de Sonya se quedará con el premio, la familia dice que mamá patrocinó la carrera de Sonya en Hollywood.

Ahora, también hemos oído que Sonya en realidad se había distanciado de algunos miembros de la familia cuando ella murió. No se llevaba bien con su hermano porque estaban luchando sobre quién iba a proporcionar y cuidar a su madre, que tiene Alzheimer y demencia.

El hermano de Sonya nos dice que estaban trabajando en reparar su relación poco antes de que ella muriera.

There's a battle brewing over soap opera star Sonya Eddy's posthumous Daytime Emmy ... with her estranged family determined to take the trophy back from her friend and producing partner.

Here's the deal ... Sonya died at the end of 2022 and she won a Daytime Emmy last month for her work on "General Hospital," with her producing partner and friend Tyler Ford accepting the award on her behalf.

Now, Sonya's family members want the award in their possession ... and they're pissed it wasn't given to them in the first place.

Sonya's younger brother, Robbie Eddy, tells TMZ ... the Television Academy didn't tell her family she was going to be winning an Emmy beforehand, and Tyler's told them he's going to keep her trophy.

We're told Sonya's whole family is now working to get the Emmy ... sending a letter to the Television Academy.

While Sonya's kin waits to hear back from the Academy, we're told they feel this whole thing is a slap in the face -- they're still grieving, and this dispute is making that process harder. Plus, the Emmys happened shortly before the 1-year anniversary of her death.

Sonya's brother says the family has no plans to take any kind of legal action against Tyler or the Academy ... they don't want to tarnish her memory with a lawsuit, they're just hoping Tyler does the "right thing" and hands over her Emmy.

If the Eddys do get the trophy, we're told Sonya's 84-year-old mother will hold onto the award ... the family says her mom sponsored Sonya's Hollywood career.

Now, we've also heard Sonya was actually estranged from some family members when she died -- she wasn't getting along with her brother because they were fighting over who was going to provide and care for their mom, who has Alzheimer's and dementia.

Sonya's brother tells us they were working on repairing their relationship not long before she died.

The relationship between Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco is so serious that she's now introducing him to her fatherly figure TV costars Steve Martin and Martin Short.

TMZ obtained these photos of Selena and Benny interacting with Steve and Martin on the red carpet at the 75th Annual Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles last Monday.

As you may know, Selena, Steve, and Martin all star in the hit Hulu show, "Only Murders In The Building," which was up for 11 Emmy Awards, but snagged only one statue for Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour).

Eyewitnesses tell us ... the meeting between the four celebs occurred just prior to the kick-off of the gala event. Selena was first to approach Steve and Martin on the red carpet, giving them big hugs before chatting with them a bit.

Our sources say she then introduced her record producer boyfriend, Benny, to her costars, while the three men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Sources tell us everyone got along great and it seemed as if Selena was presenting her new beau for the first time to a couple of fatherly figures in her life. Of course, we can't be sure if they had ever met before this encounter.

After talking amongst each other for about five minutes, the foursome left the red carpet to go inside the theater for the awards show.

"The Daily Show" has been in a state of flux since Trevor Noah stepped down more than a year ago ... but it sounds like the uncertainty might be comin' to an end.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Comedy Central told TheWrap the network was getting ready to reveal the show's "next chapter" ... and then promptly left fans on the edge of their seats -- saying the announcement's coming NEXT week.

This comes on the heels of an Emmy win for 'TDS' ... taking home Outstanding Talk Series at the awards show on Monday -- though even during the win the show's unresolved host issue took center stage.

Roy Wood Jr., a longtime correspondent of the show, expressed his displeasure with recent choices ... mouthing "Please hire a host" multiple times while TN lifted the award in triumph -- pretty funny parallel when you see the clip.

Noah left the show back in 2022 ... giving fans a tear-jerking goodbye when he signed off. A rotating panel of hosts has taken over in the weeks and months since -- and clearly, it's had its ups and downs.

Wood Jr. left the show back in Oct. after he was seemingly passed up for the full-time hosting gig ... no word on if he'd be open to a reunion with his former employer.

Martin Lawrence's appearance at the Emmys this week got some folks a little worried he might be worse for wear -- but the guy's actually never been better, and there's a perfectly good explanation for what people misperceived ... TMZ has learned.

ICYMI ... some fans started speculating something was up with the actor/comedian after he and his "Martin" costars -- Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold and Carl Anthony Payne II -- had a reunion at the 75th Emmys on Monday, and Lawrence seemed to slur his words during the bit.

Viewers rushed to social media to compare notes with many expressing concern for the 58-year-old's health and wishing him well and a speedy recovery.

However, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... ML's totally fine -- in fact, we're told he just recently finished filming the latest "Bad Boys." Not just that, but our sources say he's also hitting the road this summer for his latest comedy tour. In other words, tip-top shape.

We're told even though some thought he may have been slurring his words and taking long pauses during the Emmys Martin reunion, this was actually because of a technical glitch with the teleprompter caused by late changes to the script -- automation strikes again!

In fact, Lawrence is so good we're told he's actually got a couple professional surprises coming for fans in the next few weeks ... though our sources wouldn't elaborate ... so stay tuned for that.

As for the reunion itself ... Martin had so much fun getting together with the cast close to 30 years after the show ended. You gotta admit they all looked great!

La aparición de Martin Lawrence en los Emmys esta semana dejó algunas personas un poco preocupadas sobre su estado de salud, pero el hombre no puede estar mejor, y hay una explicación perfectamente buena para lo que la gente percibe... TMZ ha averiguado.

Por si se lo perdieron, algunos fans comenzaron a especular de que algo estaba mal con el actor y comediante después de que él y sus coprotagonistas de "Martin", Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold y Carl Anthony Payne tuvieran una reunión en la 75ª edición de los Emmys el lunes, y Lawrence parecía arrastrar un poquito las palabras.

Los espectadores se apresuraron en ir a las redes sociales para expresar su preocupación por la salud del actor de 58 años y desearle lo mejor y una pronta recuperación.

Sin embargo, fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que Martin está totalmente bien. De hecho, nos dicen que acaba de terminar el rodaje de la última "Bad Boys". No solo eso, sino que nuestras fuentes dicen que también está pensando en hacer una gira de comedia durante el verano. En otras palabras, está en plena forma.

Nos dijeron que aunque algunos pensaron que estaba arrastrando las palabras y haciendo largas pausas durante la reunión de Martin en los Emmys, en realidad esto se debió a un fallo técnico con el teleprompter causado por unos cambios de última hora en el guion. ¡La automatización ataca de nuevo!

De hecho, Lawrence está tan bien que nos dicen que incluso tiene un par de sorpresas profesionales para los fans en las próximas semanas. Aunque nuestras fuentes no quisieron dar más detalles, así que quédense atentos para eso.

En cuanto a la reunión en sí, Martin se divirtió mucho con el elenco cerca de 30 años después del final de la serie. Hay que reconocer que todos estaban estupendos.

The "Friends" cast wasn't at the Emmys Monday night to honor the late Matthew Perry ... and now we know why they bailed.

Emmy producers are now explaining that while Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer all bagged an invite, they opted not to come together onstage ... cause it was just too soon after Matthew's sudden death in October.

Emmy's EP Jesse Collins tells The Hollywood Reporter he totally gets it from their POV -- they're mourning someone they were very close to for years.

He says while they can't speak on their behalf, they must respect that the "Friends" cast was their own little family.

Matthew was the last person to appear on screen during the Emmys' in memoriam segment honoring fallen stars .... with singer Charlie Puth transitioning from "See You Again" to a stripped-back version of the "Friends" theme song, "I'll Be There for You."

TMZ broke the story ... Matthew was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi on Oct. 28 after playing 2 hours of pickleball at Riviera Country Club near his home in Pacific Palisades. First responders rushed to the property on a cardiac arrest call, and he was declared deceased on the scene after an apparent drowning.

The L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office released the toxicology report in December ... he died from "the acute effects of ketamine," a drug used to treat depression and is also used as a recreational drug.

El elenco de "Friends" no estuvo en la ceremonia de los Emmys el lunes por la noche para honrar al fallecido Matthew Perry y ahora sabemos por qué se lo perdieron.

Los productores de los Emmy están explicando que, si bien Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc y David Schwimmer fueron invitados, ellos optaron por no subir al escenario juntos, pues era demasiado pronto después de la repentina muerte de Matthew en octubre.

El productor ejecutivo de Emmy, Jesse Collins, le dijo a The Hollywood Reporter que lo entiende totalmente, pues aún están de luto por alguien que fue muy cercano durante años.

Él dice que si bien no pueden hablar en su nombre, deben respetar que el elenco de "Friends" era su propia pequeña familia.

Matthew fue la última persona en aparecer en pantalla durante el segmento in memoriam de los Emmys en honor a las estrellas que fallecieron en el último tiempo. El cantante Charlie Puth hizo la transición de la canción "See You Again" a una versión el piano de "I'll Be There for You", el tema principal de "Friends".

TMZ dio la noticia, Matthew fue encontrado sin respuesta en su jacuzzi el 28 de octubre después de jugar 2 horas de pickleball en Riviera Country Club cerca de su casa en Pacific Palisades. Los primeros auxilios se apresuraron en llegar a la propiedad por un paro cardíaco, y luego fue declarado muerto en la escena después de un aparente ahogamiento.

La Oficina del Médico Forense del Condado de Los Ángeles dio a conocer el informe toxicológico en diciembre. Matthew murió de "los efectos agudos de la ketamina", un medicamento utilizado para tratar la depresión y que también se utiliza como una droga recreativa.

Breonna Taylor's mom is thanking Niecy Nash-Betts for mentioning her late daughter while winning her first Primetime Emmy ... praising her for using her platform for justice.

Niecy won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in an anthology series, and her powerful acceptance speech prompted a standing ovation ... with Niecy saying, "I accept this award on behalf of every Black and Brown woman who have gone unheard, yet overpoliced, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor!”

Breonna's mother, Tamika Palmer, tells TMZ … it's "amazing" Niecy used her big moment to  "acknowledge women, including my daughter, who have tragically fallen victim to police brutality."

Niecy also told the Emmys audience she feels it's her responsibility as an artist to speak truth to power, and she plans to do so until the day she dies.

Breonna's mom adds ... "The lack of accountability for these injustices is undeniable, and it is crucial for us to keep saying their names and reminding people of the profound impact of their loss."

As you know, Breonna was shot and killed by cops in Louisville during a botched raid back in March 2020, and her death sparked demonstrations against racial injustice and policing.

Tina Fey y Amy Poehler revivieron el "SNL "Weekend Update" durante los Emmys el lunes y hemos descubierto que el segmento se debió a un esfuerzo conjunto entre la NBC y Fox.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que los productores de los Emmy en Fox se acercaron a la gente de "Saturday Night Live" en la NBC para un renacimiento del legado, con ambas partes decidiendo que quieren resucitar el popular segmento de Tina y Amy mientras presentaban el premio Emmy al Especial de Variedades en Directo.

Nos dicen que FOX y NBC pensaron que el dúo era la mejor opción para llenar el espacio, ya que han hecho un montón de divertidas apariciones en vivo.

En cuanto a un regreso oficial a "SNL" ... fuentes nos dicen que no hay planes inmediatos de Tina y Amy para volver a los sketchs comedia.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler 's revived 'SNL' "Weekend Update" was one of the big treats at the Emmy Awards ... and proof positive competing networks can work together with great results.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ the Emmys producers over at Fox approached the "Saturday Night Live" peeps at NBC to discuss a legacy revival segment -- and both parties decided having Tina and Amy reunite in their old 'Weekend Update' roles would be awesome.

If ya missed it, they pulled it off while presenting the Emmy award for Live Variety Special. We're told both networks wanted Amy and Tina to do it -- not only because of their 'SNL' chops -- but, also because they've teamed up for so many live entertainment gigs over the years.

As for the possibility they have an official reunion on an episode of 'SNL' -- one source says there's no immediate plans.

Paul Walter Hauser is looking for a new brand deal after his mango moment at the Emmys ... and fittingly, he wants to do biz with a dried fruit company.

We got the "Black Bird" star at LAX the day after his big win at the Emmy Awards and we asked him about eating dried mangos during his acceptance speech.

Paul agrees an endorsement deal for dried mangos makes a whole lotta sense now.

In case you missed it ... Paul had a mouthful as he took the Emmys stage to accept his award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie ... later explaining he was munching on mangoes.

Paul told reporters backstage at the Emmys his agent gave him the dried mangoes as part of an inside joke ... and he promised to eat them on camera.

While Paul says his award season success isn't bringing him new roles just yet, he has a new and fun way to make some extra cash here. It's a fun conversation ... and Paul tells us which types of fruits he likes to wolf down.