Celebrity Feuds

Usher's squabble with Chris Brown isn't going to affect his performance later tonight in Las Vegas -- because the guy's taking the stage regardless ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Usher -- who's currently scheduled as the headliner for Saturday's "Lover & Friends" music festival -- will take the stage as planned ... meaning, the show will, in fact, go on despite what happened earlier this morning with CB and co.

We're told that Usher was, indeed, injured during the brouhaha at the skating rink ... and that his nose and face are kinda jacked up right now. And yet -- our sources assure us he's going to power through and put on a good show. He may, however, be covering up a bit.

In other words ... be on the lookout for him wearing sunglasses of some sort tonight, and perhaps rocking some fresh battle scars that might pop out through any stage makeup.

As for Chris -- who was also in the lineup as one of the big acts slated to perform -- we're told it's unclear if he'll do his set tonight. Chris hasn't said anything publicly as of Saturday.

There's more ... TMZ can confirm reporting by B. Scott, who said the drama appears to have stemmed from Chris' scrapped AMAs performance last year -- when he was set to do an MJ tribute, only to claim he got the rug pulled out from under him last minute.

Our sources say that is, indeed, true -- and the reason he went after Teyana here is because we're told she was actually involved in the planning of that performance ... but something went awry before the day of. This makes sense, as it's been widely reported of late that TT has stepped into the role of a creative director lately for a number of artists/their shows.

Anyway, Chris clearly felt some type of way, and was confronting her -- which only escalated when she snubbed him. Not just that, but we're told Chris actually demanded Usher make her leave ... in addition to asking her to get out himself, seeing how it was his bday party.

We're told Usher refused, and the rest is history ... some of which you can see on video.

Time will tell, we suppose, if Chris will come out himself, or if he'll address this further. BTW, it looks like Teyana -- who was once a fierce CB defender -- has unfollowed him on IG.

We'll also keep our eyes peeled for anything Usher might have to say later today. Something tells us he just may talk about it.

Machine Gun Kelly has entered the chat for the "second greatest white rapper" debate after Jack Harlow declared himself heir apparent behind Eminem ... and he might have a claim.

MGK -- who's been much more about rock and roll lately than he has about rap -- just dipped his toe back into the genre where he cut his teeth ... dropping a new freestyle in which he's spittin' pretty ferociously, and where he also takes an explicit shot at Jack.

Check it out for yourself ... Kelly is rapping over Jay-Z's "Renegade" beat, which also features Em -- something that surely wasn't lost on MGK when he was picking an instrumental.

As for the bars themselves ... we gotta say, they're pretty damn good. Solid flow and rhyme scheme -- and the references he's making are a cut above your average mumble rap verse these days. Of course, he eventually called out Jack by name with a telling few lines.

Kelly raps, "Make sure there's no confusion // I'm a great white, I can eat these barracudas." Then, he goes for the jugular ... "I see why they call you Jackman // You jack man's whole swag // Give Drake his flow back man." Indeed, it's pretty vicious, and there's no ambiguity.

This is clearly in response to what Jack said on one of his tracks from his new album -- in which JH rapped ... "The hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters // And hold the comments 'cause I promise you I'm honestly better // Than whoever came to your head right then." That claim caused a firestorm on Twitter.

Other names got thrown around as possibly being better than Jack ... including the underrated Action Bronson, Lil Dicky, Mac Miller and, yes, Machine Gun Kelly too.

Usher and Chris Brown got into a heated argument last night -- which apparently led to some sort of a scuffle that got violent outside ... and TMZ has video of the lead-up to that.

Check out this footage that we obtained, which we're told was taken very early Saturday morning at the Skate Rock City roller rink in Vegas ... where CB was celebrating his 34th birthday among a lot of celeb pals, including Usher -- with whom he's incredibly close.

While Usher and co. sang to Chris earlier in the evening when everything was fine, things unfortunately got ugly in the wee hours of the morning ... when eyewitnesses tell us Chris was attempting to talk to Teyana Taylor, who was also in attendance and sitting on a bench just outside of the rink. We're told, for whatever reason, Teyana was ignoring him.

Our sources tell us this pissed Chris off, and he started to yell at her ... and that's when Usher intervened and tried to calm him down. You can see that in our video here.

We're told Chris wasn't having it, cursing at Usher and Teyana -- but then, mostly focusing his anger directly at Usher. Eventually, our sources say Chris told his crew they were leaving and they exited the facility. We're told Usher took off his skates and went after them.

Our eyewitness -- who says they were present for this -- tells us they saw Usher go behind a string of charter buses that were parked in the lot ... where Chris and his crew were at. We're told a short time later, Usher emerged with what appeared to be a bloody nose.

Unclear if he went to the hospital, or if a police report was filed. We've reached out to Vegas Metro -- but haven't heard of anything even remotely resembling this being called in.

Meanwhile ... Usher, Teyana and Chris have all been radio silent this morning -- with none of them having said a thing yet to confirm or deny a report initially put out by Hollywood Unlocked, which broke the news of a fight between the two R&B superstars/friends.

John Legend is firing back at Megyn Kelly for going after his wife, Chrissy Teigen ... he says Megyn is desperate to get conservatives back on her side.

We got John at MÍRAME in Beverly Hills Thursday, and asked him about Megyn's negative reaction to Chrissy's outfit for the White House Correspondents Dinner ... and the singer didn't hold back.

John says Megyn's critique is a gross attempt for attention, which he says she needs now that she's no longer working for FOX.

What's more, John thinks Megyn is going after Chrissy in an attempt to win back Donald Trump supporters.

ICYMI ... Megyn ripped Chrissy's dress, labeling Teigen "elitist" for having "minions" and "serfs" holding the train of her dress. Megyn also chided Chrissy for exposing her underwear with a sheer fabric gown.

John says Megyn sounds desperate and should just shut up ... and he defends his wife as being kind, loving and down to Earth.

While John admits it's not normal to have people carrying someone's dress train down the street, he says it's just part of the deal when Chrissy goes to a big event.

LL Cool J is pleading no contest in the case of allegedly laughing at Jay-Z's freestyles when the latter was in high school ... a legend LL doesn't exactly recall happening.

At any rate, the Rock The Bells creator suspects his long-ago mocking of Jay could be the reason he's never been invited to the Roc Nation brunch!!!

LL was being quizzed inside "Big Boy's Neighborhood" about some of his iconic career mysteries when the topic of battling Jay-Z came up.

While LL can't remember teasing a young Jay, he doesn't see the big deal, because ... well, it was freakin' high school after all.

Despite his hazy memory, LL knows for a fact he's never been invited to the yearly Grammy weekend shindig, and now he's wondering if his wisecracks have anything to do with it.

Jay actually remembered things slightly differently in a 2003 interview with Sway Calloway. He says he confronted LL outside a club, not in a high school hallway, and he didn't hint at losing the battle either.

The two also didn't exactly see eye to eye during Jay's short stint as Def Jam President in the mid-2000s ... which also coincided with LL's exit from the label.

LeBron James knows a good reference when he hears it -- and after booting the Memphis Grizzlies out of the playoffs ... a classic Mystikal line came to mind, and it's perfect.

The King was feeling cocky Saturday after the Lakers crushed Ja Morant's team in decisive fashion Friday in front of the home crowd ... which ends their season and sends LBJ and co. into the next round, where they await either the Warriors or the Sacramento Kings.

Bron took to IG with a huge flex -- posting an epic in-game photo of himself after one of his many buckets, where he's roaring in Crypto.com Arena. His caption was just as badass.

He writes, "If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR."

Of course, the line is a nod to two things -- one, it's the bar that Mystikal dropped back in 2012 during a freestyle on Invasion Radio ... which has gone down in hip hop history. It also, obviously, refers to the Grizzlies as a unit in general ... and their ferocious fluffy mascot.

And yes ... it's also very likely one final shot at SF Dillon Brooks, who was talking mad s*** to LeBron early on in the series -- and who famously said after their Game 2 win that he liked to "poke bears" when asked about his back-and-forth with LeBron on the court.

You'll recall ... Dillon brazenly called Bron "old" and said he doesn't respect anybody who doesn't give him at least 40 points. LBJ never quite did that but he owned the dude in just about every respect of the game ... not to mention the Memphis squad as a whole.

Dillon has mostly avoided talking to the media since then ... and his playoff performance was mediocre, to say the least. Seems like LeBron isn't letting him live it down just yet.

Boosie Badazz is backpedaling like Deion Sanders in his heyday after very openly calling T.I. a snitch.

The unfiltered rap star repositioned his stance in a new interview with VladTV Thursday ... admitting he jumped to conclusions without having his facts straight.

Boosie publicly bashed T.I. for claiming he snitched on his cousin after he died ... a podcast moment T.I. later revealed to be a joke — and provided the paperwork to prove it.

The rift derailed the release of their joint album ... but when we spoke to T.I. on the matter, he wrote of Boosie's comments as "misspeaking."

Boosie tells Vlad he and Tip have a long positive history and their sons are also good friends ... and felt bad about how he handled the situation.

Dillon Brooks might actually be getting under LeBron James' skin ... 'cause the Lakers superstar got so fed up with being asked about the Grizzlies forward on Friday, he abruptly cut off his media availability.

Of course, Brooks made headlines for ripping the King after Wednesday's win over L.A. ... calling James "old" and saying he doesn't respect his game.

Naturally, the 4-time NBA champ was peppered with questions about his current enemy at practice just minutes ago ... and he was short and to the point with reporters -- claiming he didn't hear a word Brooks said.

James' patience clearly ran thin as media members continued to try and get a soundbite out of him ... and, eventually, he brought everything to a screeching halt and walked away.

"I don’t want to talk much more," an annoyed James said. "Tomorrow is going to be a great game. I’m not here for the bulls***. I’m ready to play. That’s it."

Some reporters in attendance laughed it off ... but Bron didn't appear to be in a laughing mood.

James didn't wanna talk, but Rui Hachimura gave a short comment about Brooks ... saying, "They’re a young team. They just want to talk. We don’t really care. We’re just going to play our game and try to win the game."

Jim Jones paid a trip to The Breakfast Club Friday to offer clarification behind his super viral Pusha T remarks ... but he didn't bend to social media pressure and switch up his stance.

Jim was a recent guest on Spotify's RapCaviar podcast with TMZ Hip Hop's Trent Clark -- and they both agreed Pusha didn't belong on Billboard's Top 50 list ... with Jim going so far as to suggest Pusha's coke rhymes were essentially fairy tales.

Proud Pusha fan Charlamagne Tha God grilled Jim about his opinion -- and the Dipset rapper reiterated he meant no malice behind his comments but doubled down that Pusha's music never influenced or swayed him.

Jim then quizzed everyone's ability to rap along to either Pusha or his top songs when put on the spot, with the majority siding in Jim's favor. It might have been a skewed case study -- TBC's filmed in NYC, giving Jim a clear home court advantage.

DJ Envy spent considerable time in Virginia for college but openly admitted he hasn't memorized Pusha's tracks all that well, so there's that.

Judge Mathis says he has no hard feelings after going back and forth with 50 Cent earlier this month ... but he's still going forward with his own "BMF" project regardless!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with hizzoner at LAX, where he explained he and 50 haven't spoken since their social media disagreement over Mathis' upcoming biopic, "The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story."

The TV judge is executive producing the film and 50's ex, Vivica A. Fox, is the director ... but 50 was more concerned with Tonesa being labeled a "BMF associate," because he says her ties are more with Detroit's 263 Crew ... a gang that preceded BMF.

Regardless of what the title says, JM tells us he's a proud Detroit native looking to get Tonesa's story out in the open, which will debut on BET+ later this year.

He also doesn't mind 50's ribbing because he says they're both from the same walk of life!!!

50 infamously got shot 9 times before his rap career skyrocketed, while Mathis says he was shot twice and even showed his bullet wounds!

50 Cent has no qualms about calling out his ex-flame Vivica A. Fox for what he feels is her encroaching on his "BMF" territory!!!

Vivica is currently promoting the "The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story" ... an upcoming BET+ biopic, which she's directing.

According to 50's expertise and (close connections), Tonesa was never a part of Detroit's infamous BMF enterprise, and says she's more accurately linked to the Detroit 263 Crew ... which her ex-husband Terry "Southwest T" Flenory commanded.

50 tagged Southwest in his IG post -- perhaps to get a second opinion on the facts -- and also slandered Judge Mathis' inclusion as executive producer. But, Vivica sees the entire ordeal as promotion and happily reposted her former flame's rant!!!

The series was greenlit several weeks ago and begins filming in April in Washington, D.C.

If you remember, Tonesa lashed out against Lala Anthony's "BMF" character "MarKaisha Taylor" and claimed the role depicted her as a pedophile -- so accuracy is definitely her thing.

Kash Doll later defended the role and the show, reminding viewers the show is only loosely based on real life.

Ben Affleck is clearing the air on what he says is a widely held misconception -- that he's totally miserable most of the time ... even when he's pretty damn happy.

Ben was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday to promote his new movie "Air," and the guys chatted about a number of things, including Ben's RBF ... y'know the thing he went viral for at this year's Grammys. You'll recall, he looked very unamused as his wife Jennifer Lopez danced alongside him.

Now, Ben cleaned it up a bit for Kimmel, instead of "resting bitch face" ... he said, "I have a very unhappy-looking resting face."

The guys joked Ben's face played a key role during a Christmas party Ben and Jen threw. They'd invited Jimmy and his wife, but as JK put it, "It did seem like you weren't quite as psyched about the party as everybody else".

Ben then tried to address the issue once and for all ... by showing a range of emotions on his face.

Amused and content looks a lot more like pissed off and I'd rather die than be here.

Hey, he's admitting it, but BA says don't blame him ... "That's how God made me, you don't have to punish me for it!"

Of course, Ben and JLo recently attended the "Air" premiere ... and the two looked happy as ever together, as they locked lips and took photos.

Brian Cox has backtracked on negative comments he made about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry -- and he's blaming the media for taking his words out of context.

The "Succession" star was interviewed by Radio Times and now says he had "enormous sympathy" for the royals after they announced they were leaving Britain's Monarchy in 2020. He previously showed little sympathy for the couple, saying Markle knew what she was getting into when she tied the knot with Harry and even fantasized about marrying Prince Charming.

In his Radio Times sit down, Cox said Markle got caught up in a fairytale that had an unhappy ending, referring to the Royal Family. He said the couple was the product of a dying institution (The Monarchy), which was difficult for Meghan to adapt to due to her American upbringing.

Cox said Markle understandably viewed The Royal lifestyle as a fairytale, but it all went "horribly wrong” for Meghan and Harry in the end.

The actor added, “I think they’re victims," meaning Harry and Meghan. Cox also said he was "a bit angry" his words were taken out of context during an interview with Haute Living New York earlier this month.

In that interview, he was quoted by the outlet as saying Markle knew what she was getting into and had "childhood dreams of marrying Prince Charming and all that s–t we see as fantasy that could be our lives in our dreams.”

Cox went on to say Markle shouldn't have been surprised by the crush of media attention following her and Harry's exit from the Royal Family.

David Benavidez says an ass whoopin's waiting for Caleb Plant on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports he's gonna "put a beating" on his longtime enemy during their upcoming fight, and Canelo's next on the hit list!

We spoke to Benavidez (26-0 w/ 23 KOs) -- one of the most talented fighters in the world -- ahead of his highly-anticipated matchup, pitting David vs. Caleb in the main event of Saturday's Showtime Boxing card.

"This fight has everything everybody wants to see,"  Benavidez said. "It has bad blood, it has drama, it has two fighters that really don't like each other go at it. I really dislike Caleb Plant."

He's not kiddin' either. The two boxing stars got into a heated confrontation at their kickoff press conference last month in Los Angeles, with their teams having an exchange of words.

In fact, the beef goes back years, all the way to 2018, when the guys were involved in a scuffle at a boxing gym.

So, as you can see, the friction's real, though Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) told us he believes the verbal attack reeked of "desperation" by Benavidez.

"He can say whatever he wants but I know at the end of the day, he is really scared of me," Benavidez said.

"Everybody I put my hands on I hurt and I know that for a fact... he knows that for a fact."

Benavidez added, "I just don't like this guy. I've been thinking about it for four months, every day, there's only one goal in my head and that's really to put a beating on this guy."

Once he's done with Plant, Benavidez says he's gunning for Canelo.

"After I beat Caleb Plant, and the way I'm gonna beat him, I feel like people are gonna put way more pressure on him to make this [Alvarez] fight happen," Benavidez said.

"If he doesn't make this fight happen, he's gonna get a lot of criticism."

Until then, Benavidez is ready for his 24th knockout win on March 25.

"RHOA" alum Eva Marcille is definitely NOT here for the way Tamar Braxton went after Kandi Burruss ... saying TB's vague IG posts were messy, and misled fans into thinking Eva was part of the drama.

We got Eva at LAX and she got candid about the Tamar/Kandi feud ... which hit close to home for her because she got pulled into the mix when Tamar publicly claimed she had serious beef with an Atlanta housewife.

Eva's issue is Tamar was far from clear with her accusation.

ICYMI, Tamar posted a series of IG stories in December about an unnamed Atlanta housewife and her husband who had allegedly threatened her -- her only hint was that the husband was involved in politics.

Fans quickly speculated it was Eva because her husband is an attorney who has a hand in ATL politics.

However, the truth didn't come out until this week, when TB was on "Watch What Happens Live" and told Andy Cohen it was actually Kandi and Todd Tucker.

Eva says she did have a chance to talk to Tamar, who apologized for dragging her into the drama. Regardless, EM says it was a "funky situation" all around, and she told Tamar it all could have been avoided if she just went directly to Kandi months ago.

Troy Ave is reveling in the fact he helped put his mortal enemy, Taxstone, behind bars -- he just released a very disrespectful track celebrating his pending prison sentence.

The Brooklyn MC unleashed the fiery-titled, "Dear Hater I Won (Taxstone Found Guilty)" ... dropping it Friday, just hours after a jury in NYC found the pioneering hip hop podcaster was guilty of manslaughter.

The song opens up with audio of Boskoe100 slamming Taxstone for writing a letter to the judge that spoke against Troy, which provided the fuel for the slanderous chorus ... "Since you n***** like writing letters, here go one/Dear hater, I won/I'ma boss, you a bum/Suck a d**k, till it c**s." 🙊

Troy codirected the visuals with Shanicerayneil, and wildly captures himself rapping outside the NYC courthouse where the trial took place.

He justified his decision to testify against Tax ... by using an image of Jay-Z in court during his 2021 perfume lawsuit, assuring his critics he was in the right and his rival was in the wrong.

Taxstone, real name Daryl Campbell, was convicted of killing Troy's bodyguard Ronald McPhatter, and wounding three others -- including Troy -- during T.I.’s 2016 concert in NYC. Troy used clips of the shooting in the 'Hater' music vid.

We broke the story back when ... several people were caught in the Irving Plaza melee that spawned massive chaos inside the venue.