Awards / Awards Shows

The 2024 ESPYs paid tribute Thursday night to the many great athletes who passed away in the last 12 months ... but one name was notably left out -- O.J. Simpson.

The annual award show took place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles ... and as they do every year, ESPN officials ran their "In Memoriam" segment to reflect on the stars the sports world lost since the last iteration of the event.

Willie Mays, Jerry West, Larry Allen and Bill Walton, among others, were shouted out during the impactful portion of the show. Simpson, however, was not.

Nikki Glaser came out swinging at the ESPY Awards ... cracking a ton of jokes at several athletes' expense -- and Scottie Scheffler's legal troubles were not off-limits.

The comedian brought out the big guns at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles while presenting the award for Best Male Athlete to "peak athletes who push their bodies to the limit and also a golfer."

She then apologizes to the golfer in question -- Scottie Scheffler -- saying she knows it's difficult to putt, chip and drive ... over a cop's leg.

Floyd Mayweather, Mookie Betts, and a gang of other star athletes and actors rubbed shoulders at a swanky party in Los Angeles Wednesday night ... where the 50-0 fighter delivered an emotional speech to the famous partygoers!

In addition to TBE and the 8x All-Star, Draymond Green, Terance Mann, Michael Porter Jr., Trevor Ariza, Meagan Good, and Jonathan Majors were also in the building.

As for why all the stars came out ... it was to celebrate the launch of Hidden Empire Sports, a collaboration between The Union and EAG Sports Management, and created by Deon Taylor.

Darius Rucker says the time has come to forgive Morgan Wallen for using a racial slur ... and he wants to see Morgan get his due at award shows.

The country singer -- obviously famous from Hootie & the Blowfish -- says Morgan's worked hard to become a better person since he used the n-word during a drunken convo with a friend.

Appearing on Rolling Stone's 'Music Now' podcast, Darius said it still feels like Morgan hasn't been forgiven for the incident ... at least when it comes to CMA and ACM nominations.

Prince Harry's a humble, stand-up guy who blends in as just another fellow veteran, making him deserving of the Pat Tillman Award for Service ... a former recipient tells us amid the outrage over ESPN's decision to honor the royal.

U.S. Marine Jake Wood, who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ veterans who've interacted with Prince Harry through his Invictus Games efforts say he's as real as it gets. There's no air of superiority ... he just wants to sit, swap war stories, and ensure everyone's taken care of, he says.

No doubt in Jake's eyes, Harry's down-to-earth nature, on top of him devoting a large chunk of his post-military life to veterans, solidifies his worthiness for the award.

Prince Harry has key figures in his corner amid the outrage over ESPN's decision to honor him with the Pat Tillman Award for Service -- at least 2 former winners say Harry is definitely deserving.

Jake Wood, a U.S. Marine and former college football player who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ … the Duke of Sussex is a natural fit for the Tillman honor because of Harry's military service and his dedication to veterans.

Jake feels Prince Harry is a good choice because he's dedicated his life to serving and supporting the military and veterans -- Harry served 2 tours in Afghanistan -- and that should be commended because there are hundreds of different ways a British royal could live his life.

Kanye West is facing some serious allegations, O.J. Simpson has the BET Awards in hot water and Brandon Aiyuk has a desired NFL landing spot ... all this on TMZ TV Hot Takes.

On "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down a new lawsuit against Kanye, including allegations he mocked his employees as "new slaves."

ESPN is standing firm in its decision to honor Prince Harry with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at this month's ESPYs ... doubling down and saying the Duke of Sussex is a rightful recipient of the honor.

As we previously reported, Tillman's mother, Mary, was dissatisfied with this year's pick for the award ... saying there were plenty of lesser-known candidates that deserve some recognition -- and referring to Harry as "controversial and divisive" in the process.

ESPN talent Pat McAfee also dogged the selection ... claiming it felt like the network was purposely trying to strike a controversy.

Prince Harry isn't fit to receive the Pat Tillman Award at the ESPYs, and it's shocking ESPN let him ... at least, that's what the late veteran's mother thinks.

Mary Tillman -- mom to former NFL safety Pat Tillman who joined the U.S. Army after 9/11 and died in a friendly fire incident -- spoke to Daily Mail about ESPN choosing Prince Harry to receive the ESPY named in Pat's honor ... and, suffice to say, she's not happy with the decision.

Tillman says, "I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award."

Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" is one of the hottest tracks on the planet, and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. says a diss track winning a Grammy might not be conventional ... but now it's definitely possible!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke with the Grammy czar Monday at LAX, where he told us he's been feeling the cultural avalanche of "Not Like Us," just like everyone else is.

K. Dot shot the music video in Compton over the weekend, and its release will inevitably breathe new life into the song -- which, while being extremely danceable, is still primarily, a huge shot at Drake.

Jon Voight's super stoked his daughter Angelina Jolie won her first Tony Award ... a win he says may not have happened had his granddaughter not found the play!

We caught up with the legendary actor at LAX and asked about his daughter's big win for producing 'The Outsiders.' JV's over the moon for his kiddo.

Voight explains how Angie got involved with the project ... crediting his granddaughter Vivienne for watching the play multiple times before it landed on Broadway and convincing her mom to check it out.

Jonathan Majors was honored Friday night at the Impact Awards for his perseverance after he was convicted of domestic assault last year -- and the actor delivered a moving acceptance speech.

Majors hit the fourth annual "Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards 2024" in Bev Hills with his actress girlfriend, Meagan Good, and a slew of other celebs, including Tiffany Haddish, Cardi B and Sharon Stone.

When motivational speaker Iyanla Vanzant called him to the stage for his "Perseverance Award," Majors stood up before the mic and addressed the star-studded crowd for more than 15 minutes.

Dave Davies is trying to get an important trophy he once had after it vanished and recently showed up for sale online ... but might have to give up another prized possession to do it.

The Kinks rocker hopped on X this week to lament the fact that his 1990 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame award -- a statue with his name on it -- surfaced on eBay ... with the seller of this rare collector's item claiming it fell into their lap, with them trying to hawk it for over $12k.

Now, Davies is giving us more insight into what happened here ... and more importantly, how he plans to get the HOF trophy back. He tells TMZ the award went missing back in the day after he suffered a stroke … and he's gobsmacked to see it all these years later.

Carol Burnett's a living legend who's going to live on forever ... 'cause she got the cement treatment at TCL Chinese Theater while some of Hollywood's biggest stars looked on.

The actress-comedian dipped her hands and feet into wet cement outside the Hollywood landmark Thursday ... an honor only bestowed upon H'wood's brightest stars -- and, ya gotta see everyone who attended.

Of course, there's Carol -- who looks great for 91 BTW -- with her hands down in the muck, big grin on her face, but also in attendance are Bob Odenkirk, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, and one of the few people perhaps more famous than even Burnett ... Dick Van Dyke.

The U.S. Open teed off a week ago, but champ Bryson DeChambeau's living it up like he just sank the tourney-winning putt ... partying, trophy in hand, in downtown Nashville -- and it's awesome!

The 30-year-old champ was seen walking the streets of Tennessee's capital with the U.S. Open trophy ... as Bryson and his new hardware got in line to enter a bar on Broadway.

It is unclear if Bryson was meeting up with friends, family, or a mix of both ... but the group linked up outside Jason Aldean's Kitchen and Rooftop Bar -- which opened on the Broadway strip back in 2018.