Music

Cher insists she's not apologizing for tweeting President Trump should end up being someone's prison "toy boy" -- but she's definitely apologizing for making a joke of prison rape.

Cher went on a tirade late Wednesday night, posting her thoughts about Trump and impeachment. She tweeted, "I Would *love* 2 See trump Impeached,Brought 2 Trial, *locked* Up In *prison* & Toy Boy Big Bubba!!"

She added, "I WANT WHAT'S BEST 4 DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRACY" -- but hours later deleted the tweet. Early Thursday morning she issued an apology that started with, "This is NOT Apology."

Even though she's chalking it up to a "Cher wtf Moment" ... it seems pretty clear she's apologizing for crossing a line.

Her initial Trump tirade came on the heels of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's news conference Wednesday when he said charging Trump with a crime was not an option because federal rules prohibit charging a sitting President. Still, Mueller said, "If we had had the confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so."

She also put Trump on blast following a report the White House and Navy exchanged emails about keeping the USS McCain out of Trump's sight during his visit to Japan. Cher accused Trump of having hero envy.

R. Kelly's accusers are giving testimony to a federal grand jury ... alleging the disgraced singer went to great lengths to traffic underage girls for his sexual desires.

Sources directly connected to the case tell TMZ ... numerous witnesses testified before the grand jury Wednesday, claiming Kelly's team secured travel at the singer's direction to move them across state lines for sexual purposes while they were underage.

And, we're told, the grand jury is also hearing testimony that could lead to obstruction of justice indictments. One of the alleged victims testified Kelly's team paid off witnesses to NOT testify in the 2008 trial ... where Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges.

One of the families supposedly paid off by Kelly was the family of the alleged victim in the 2008 trial ... his goddaughter. Prosecutors claimed the girl in a sex tape that was submitted into evidence was the goddaughter, but apparently, the jury wasn't convinced ... in no small part because she didn't testify.

The grand jury is keying into allegations Kelly and his team attempted to impact the outcome of the 2008 trial through witness intimidation and threats of bodily harm.

The grand jury testimony also revealed that witnesses in the 2008 case were allegedly sent on vacation when the trial was underway so they wouldn't be available to testify. The witnesses say Kelly's team secured the 2008 witnesses' travel.

As we've reported ... prosecutors in the Northern District of Illinois are building a case against Kelly, which is separate from 2 other probes currently underway in New York.

We've reached out to a spokesperson for the Northern District of Illinois, who declined comment.

Mally Mall is no longer under investigation for allegedly raping a Texas woman -- prosecutors are dropping the case ... TMZ has learned.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the L.A. County District Attorney is declining to file charges against the hip-hop producer. The alleged victim had accused him of rape, but prosecutors say an extensive investigation by LAPD turned up insufficient evidence.

The D.A.'s Office says the woman claimed Mally offered to fly her in from Texas back in January to help her produce fitness training videos. She accepted, and according to prosecutors, she claimed Mally plied her with booze on 2 occasions and forcibly raped her.

Sources close to Mally told us he was partying with the woman the entire weekend, and everything was consensual. They added the woman was never in a rush to leave Mally's mansion. Mally also claimed his accuser was trying to extort him.

We broke the story ... allegations of multiple sexual assaults and human sex trafficking, along with alleged importation of exotic animals, triggered last month's raid on Mally's L.A. home. He was detained while cops searched the house, but was NOT arrested.

During the raid, cops seized a Serval cat and a Cotton-top Tamarin monkey from the home.

We're told, as of now, Mally Mall will not be getting back his exotic pets.

Kodak Black is gonna have to make himself at home in a Florida jail cell, 'cause he's gonna be there at least until September ... according to the judge in the federal case.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the judge ruled Wednesday, saying Kodak must remain behind bars until his trial gets underway.

You'll recall, Kodak requested to be let out on bail -- but under strict supervision -- so he could travel to South Carolina and deal with a sexual assault case. The feds, however, said he's too dangerous to be let out at all before trial.

Looks like the judge agreed with prosecutors. The Dept. of Justice says the court deemed the rapper to be a danger to the community. Kodak is scheduled to go on trial in Miami for lying on federal gun applications.

Prosecutors are also linking him to a March shooting, in which firearms he allegedly purchased through those applications were used.

Every time Drake opens his mouth during the NBA Finals, he's contributing to Too Short's new rap song ... so says Short Dog himself.

See, Too Short is a hardcore Golden State Warriors fan (Oakland!!), so when we saw him at Bootsy Bellows in L.A. (hanging with Jimmy O. Yang!) we asked how he plans to deal with Drake, whose Raptors fandom has been driving people crazy.

"We've had a meeting about this," Short tells TMZ Sports.

"What we're gonna do is, we're gonna watch Drake. We're gonna record every little bit of tape of Drake [during the NBA Finals]. Every word he says, we're gonna make a song with those words."

It's not a bad idea ... considering everything Drake touches turns platinum nowadays. As for the title for the project??

"It's gonna be called 'Drake Losing to the Warriors.'"

Yeah, the title could probably use some work -- but the idea is pretty solid!

By the way, Too Short and Drake are good friends -- in fact, Drake even paid homage to Short in the DJ Khaled track "For Free."

Good news, bad news for Drake -- Good news?? Klay Thompson likes your music. Bad news?? Klay Thompson HATES YOUR GUTS!!!

... as a Raptors fan.

The Warriors superstar was asked whether he's gonna get in the zone for the NBA Finals by vibin' out to some Drizzy, or skip his jams considering he's with the enemy Toronto Raptors ... and Klay had one helluva soundbite.

"If it's one of his soft, R&B songs, I'mma skip it 'cause I'm in 'kill mode' right now trying to get these 4 games," Klay says ... "So, I'll skip 'Hotline Bling' and anything along that line."

Side note -- Klay, don't do "Hotline Bling" like that. RESPECT "HOTLINE BLING"!!!!!! It's a classic.

Thompson -- who says he's been a Drake fan since high school -- added, "He's a great artist. Do I like him as a Raptors fan? No. But, I like him as a musician. He's extremely talented, but I will definitely skip the song if I don't like it."

Swae Lee says he empathizes with Meek Mill because he too has experienced the firm grip of the Cosmopolitan Hotel -- which he says has a bad rap in hip-hop.

The Rae Sremmurd rapper made his point to us while leaving the Avenue Lounge Tuesday night in Hollywood, where he said he felt Meek "100%" in regards to the Philly MC planning to sue the Cosmo for allegedly barring him due to the color of his skin.

Remember, Meek and his entourage were met at the front door by security over the weekend and wouldn't let him in and threatened him with arrest if he got out of his vehicle.

The Cosmo has officially said Meek was booted because of a capacity issue at a club on site, but that doesn't square with the hotel's hired muscle who told Meek he was being denied because of a "prior incident." Meek's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, calls BS and says this is pure racism and says Meek will sue.

Swae tells us he's also had a bad experience with the Vegas establishment, and when we pressed him on what exactly happened ... he says their staff was super aggro with him for no reason.

Meek Mill's claim the Cosmopolitan Hotel keeps a blacklist of black rappers is BS ... according to sources connected to the hotel.

Meek's attorney, Joe Tacopina, made a bombshell allegation against the resort -- claiming he has knowledge of a list that specifically makes black rappers persona non grata, and he believes that's precisely why his client was ordered to leave the hotel without even getting out of his vehicle, or face arrest.

Our Cosmo sources insist the hotel has always been more than accommodating with celebs, including black rappers, and the VIP staff goes out of its way to make sure everyone is comfortable.

Meek clearly wasn't comfortable when he was confronted by security Saturday and told to get the hell out or else. The hotel told us they turned him away because the Marquee Dayclub was filled to capacity, but it doesn't jibe with Cosmo security telling Meek he was not welcome because of a "prior incident."

Security would not be specific about any such prior incident, but a Cosmo source claimed Meek got in a fight with security a while ago. Tacopina says it's utter BS.

The Cosmo has maintained it has "zero tolerance for discrimination."

Ezekiel Elliott ain't out of the woods yet -- the man who was shoved by the NFL star at a music festival earlier this month says he's still considering pressing criminal charges against the RB.

... unless Zeke complies with his one demand.

The victim is 19-year-old Kyle Johnson -- a 6'0", 185-pound defensive back for the Orange Coast College football team in Costa Mesa, CA.

Johnson tells CBS2 in L.A. he was working as a security guard at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on May 19 when his security team told Elliott he was not allowed to enter a restricted area ... and that's when Elliott got aggressive.

Johnson claims Zeke appeared drunk -- "he didn't really seem to have a clue about where he was" -- and when they tried to direct him to leave the area, the Dallas Cowboys star got in his face and shoved him over a metal gate.

Johnson says he wasn't really injured in the incident, but notes "it didn't feel good." Cops in the area witnessed the incident and immediately put Zeke in handcuffs.

Cops asked Johnson if he wanted to press charges and at the time he declined because, "I didn't want to make a rash decision that soon without evaluating it further. It was 3 AM. I was shocked."

Johnson says all he wanted at the time was an apology from Elliott -- a guy he used to look up to -- but got a fake lip-service apology instead.

"I did get an apology from him, it wasn't a sincere apology. He didn't maintain eye contact. It didn't seem sincere at all."

Now, Johnson is evaluating all of his legal options -- but says a "sincere apology" from Elliott would probably end the drama once and for all.

"I wasn't hurt or anything but to have someone that you looked up to shove you on the ground over a metal fence? It's not the biggest thing in the world ... but [to say] nothing happened? I mean, come on."

"Love & Hip Hop" star Rah Ali gave birth 5 months into her pregnancy, and the baby only survived for a few minutes ... which is why Nicki Minaj is trying like hell to ease her close friend's pain.

Sources close to Rah Ali tell TMZ ... her baby girl died Sunday, almost immediately after the premature birth. She was not due until the middle of October.

We're told Rah Ali was in her house Sunday when her water broke and contractions started. She was rushed to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save her baby.

The premature birth came as a complete shock -- we're told all of Rah's previous doctors visits revealed no signs of trouble with her pregnancy.

Nicki and Rah have been close forever. Rah Ali allegedly tried to fight Cardi B on behalf of Nicki during last year's infamous shoe-throwing incident at a New York Fashion Week party.

Our sources say Nicki's doing everything she can to be supportive in the wake of the child's death ... calling and checking on Rah, and trying to lift her spirits ... as much as possible considering the devastating situation.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had some serious swag back in the day, and now a piece of their stylish relationship can be yours ... if you've got an eye for 5-figure tracksuits.

John's tracksuit, worn during a 1970 trip to Denmark with Yoko, is going up for sale through the memorabilia company, Moments in Time -- and they're hawking this vintage getup for a cool $35,000.

John's tracksuit actually has a pretty interesting story ... it comes from the collection of Yoko's ex-husband, Tony Cox, and John wore it when he and Yoko traveled together to Denmark to visit her ex and their daughter, Kyoko.

Not only did John and Yoko wear matching tracksuits on their European adventure ... they also chopped off their hair in the name of peace!!!

As you know ... John and Yoko married in March of 1969, and that sparked a legal battle with Cox over custody of their daughter. The trip to Denmark was a shot at reconciliation, and John and Yoko were as chill as could be in their comfy tracksuits.

Now John's tracksuit can be yours ... sans the drama of ex-husbands and child custody battles.

The guy who freaked out Madison Beer at the BottleRock festival this weekend allegedly came back the next day, high on drugs ... which landed him in handcuffs.

Napa PD tells TMZ ... 28-year-old Jake Rutger Hanson was arrested Sunday just outside the festival grounds after cops were called for another disturbance. When officers arrived, we're told Hanson displayed signs of being under the influence, and cops say they found drug paraphernalia on him.

Hanson was busted on the spot and booked for being under the influence of a controlled substance, as well as for the paraphernalia. We're told cops suspect he was on some kind of hallucinogenic, but it's unclear which one.

Hanson caused quite a ruckus the day before his arrest ... when his movements in the BottleRock crowd caused Madison to abruptly halt her set and signal that there may have been a shooting threat in the audience.

He was whisked away by cops, who booted him from the event entirely -- although cops didn't find any weapons on him or any proof he'd committed a crime. Still, he wasn't supposed to come back at all. NPD says event staff found his behavior alarming -- and that was enough for them to tell him to get lost for good.

Justin Bieber's Canadian side really shone through when a cop pulled him over in his Lamborghini and the traffic stop played out like a prime case of DWB -- driving while Bieber.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Bev Hills PD pulled over Justin Monday night because he didn't have a front license plate and his window tint was too dark.

We're told the cop decided not to write a ticket because Justin was polite, cooperative and respectful ... and agreed to take care of the car's issues right away. A lot of times, for a lot of people -- particularly entertainers -- that's at least a fix-it ticket. Just sayin' ...

Last time JB got pulled over in Bev Hills he wasn't so lucky -- he got a ticket for using his phone while driving.

Considering his past difficulties with Lambos, it's a pretty pleasant outcome for the Biebs.

So, no ... it was NOT too late to say "sorry" ... at least for BHPD.

Yo Gotti just got slapped with a whopping $6.6 MILLION default judgment in a North Carolina court ... and it's all because the rapper blew off a recording session with another artist after pocketing $20,000.

According to a judge's order, obtained by TMZ, Gotti got $20k to sing on a Young Fletcher track back in 2016, but then refused to release the song, and instead recorded a similar one on his own. He then went so far as to try going behind Fletcher's manager, attempting to poach the artist for his own label with a $150k deal.

Yo Gotti was served with a lawsuit last year while onstage, but he never answered the suit. Fast-forward to Tuesday ... and the judge issues a $2.2 million judgment, but the figure was immediately tripled, because the judge found "willful, unfair, and deceptive acts."

It's not over yet ... attorneys for Young Fletcher's manager, Michael Terry, say they'll go after Gotti's cars and his Bel-Air mansion, if need be to collect the money.

Eddie Money will NOT be using his 2 tickets to paradise anytime soon -- doctors have ordered him to take a break and take care of a heart condition before he performs another show.

The "Take Me Home Tonight" singer has been experiencing shortness of breath recently and will undergo a heart valve procedure this week to address the issue.

According to his rep ... Money was encouraged to have the minor surgery last week, but he didn't want to let down his fans who bought tickets to his 2 Memorial Day Weekend shows.

Money powered through a Saturday night show in Detroit, then flew to Arizona to perform at Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino on Sunday ... but his breathing difficulties prevented him from coming out for an encore.

We're told the audience was informed Eddie wasn't feeling well, and EMT's on-site checked him out to make sure he was okay.

The good news for Money and his fans ... his heart procedure's scheduled during a break in his summer concert series, and he expects to be fully recovered soon and back at it in mid-June.

We all know Drake can draw a crowd anywhere he goes -- but who would've guessed he gets the construction site treatment in the Bahamas???

TMZ broke the story ... Drake and co. touched down in the Caribbean Monday with his massive new custom OVO jet, which made other nearby airliners look puny.

His plane is a 767-300F Boeing model, which can retail anywhere from $185 mil to $220 mil brand new.

As if his standout sky ride wasn't a dead giveaway that Champagne Papi was in town, his mere presence at a resort on the island nation wasn't necessarily kept incognito either.

Multiple witnesses saw Drake making his way through The Cove Luxury Resort, where folks couldn't help but hoot, holler, sing and whistle at Drizzy as he passed through with his entourage. Hey, we get it ... he's one handsome feller. Catcall when you get the chance.

Drake was later seen inside the Atlantis Casino playing the tables with none other than ... Philadelphia 76ers team investor Michael Rubin?! Yep, it'd seem Drake's NBA allegiance sees no jersey when he's not on the court cheering his home team, the Toronto Raptors ... who bounced Rubin's guys earlier in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

BTW ... we're told they were posted up at $500 minimum blackjack tables. High-rollers, obviously.