Music

Britney Spears will sit for a wide-ranging deposition ... that is, if her father gets his way because Jamie Spears' lawyer has fired off an email to Britney's attorney asking to set a date for a depo.

Jamie Spears' lawyer, Alex Weingarten, sent the email Wednesday to Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart. In the email, obtained by TMZ, Weingarten writes, "We write to advise that we intend to depose your client and would like to discuss a mutually agreeable date to conduct the deposition."

The email goes on, "Of course, we will also discuss scheduling Mr. Spears' deposition with you and work with you to find a mutually agreeable date for that to proceed as well."

The email says Weingarten would agree to have Jamie deposed first, followed immediately with Britney's depo -- either the next day or the same week.

Weingarten says he'd like the depos to go down in early March.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ, the proposed deposition of Britney Spears would be wide-ranging. As you know, Britney leveled numerous allegations against Jamie during the court hearing in June ... claiming her dad refused to let her get married and have a baby. She also said she was held against her will in a treatment facility. We're told those issues will be part of the depo.

Our sources also say they want to ask Britney about "child safety and [possible] drug use," among other issues.

As we reported, Rosengart has made it clear ... he wants to question Jamie Spears on numerous issues related to allegedly mismanaging the conservatorship and using it for personal gain.

Adele's Las Vegas residency is on life support but it's not dead yet ... Caesars Palace and Live Nation want the show to go on, but they're trying to figure out how to work with Adele so they can come together and save the show.

Well-placed sources connected to Caesars tell TMZ ... the company is sitting on $150 million for the run of the residency -- that's the astonishing amount the show would generate. As a result, Caesars and Live Nation want to figure out a path where the concert can go on. We're told they need to figure it out -- one way or the other -- in the next month.

Our Caesars sources say they're not sure if they can reach an agreement with Adele, because there was significant conflict over numerous issues connected with the show over the last 2 months, including the sound system, the choir, a special effects pool, and on and on.

Our sources say Adele was unhappy with the outdated Meyer sound system that was in place at Caesars' Colosseum, so the casino installed an entirely new state-of-the-art sound system ... and Adele was happy with the upgrade. But we're told there are a bunch of other open issues which are still a source of conflict.

But, that obviously wasn't enough to save the show from going on as scheduled ... and now we're told even Adele's boyfriend, sports mega-agent Rich Paul, is involved.

Caesars initially hoped they could work something out so Adele would do at least a few concerts in February, but that's not going to happen. They're now shooting for mid-year, assuming they can reach an agreement fairly quickly.

Taylor Swift's properties are a magnet for strange incidents ... the latest ending with a man arrested early Thursday morning after cops say he crashed his car into her NYC building.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a man was busted after driving the wrong way down Taylor's street ... then reversing and striking the building and a fire hydrant.

We're told the guy got out of the car and went to the intercom, trying to rip it out of the wall ... mumbling about Taylor. As you see, the intercom wires are sticking out every which way.

Our sources say someone called 911 and when NYPD arrived officers took the man into custody and took him to a nearby hospital ... presumably for psychiatric evaluation. We're told he's facing potential charges for DWI and criminal mischief. Cops say he was drunk.

It's unclear if Taylor was home at the time.

As we reported ... there's been several men arrested at Taylor's homes all over the country ... from Rhode Island to New York to Bev Hills.

Nicki Minaj and her husband have a funny way of thanking security guards at her concerts ... at least according to one of them who claims Kenneth Petty ambushed and punched him backstage.

The guy was head of security for one of Nicki's concerts in Germany back in March 2019 ... and in a lawsuit, he claims the rapper was pissed at a security staffer for allowing a male fan to get onstage during the show. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Thomas Weidenmuller alleges Nicki yelled at the female security guard -- calling her a "f**king bitch" -- and recorded the whole thing.

Weidenmuller says the security guard was left in tears ... so, he interceded and went to speak to Nicki about the incident. According to the suit, Nicki screamed at him too, saying, "Who do you think you are?" ... and allegedly threw her shoe at him. He says her aim was off, and he escaped unscathed.

However, he claims he was later called back to Nicki's room for another discussion ... and while she ripped into him again, Kenneth allegedly came outta nowhere and punched him square in the face, breaking his jaw.

Kenneth packs one hell of a punch, apparently ... Weidenmuller says he's had 8 surgeries to fix his jaw, now has 5 plates in his face and will need an additional 6 operations to get right!!!

Chris Brown allegedly raped a woman on a yacht parked at Diddy's Star Island home ... this according to a new $20 million lawsuit.

The singer is being sued by a Jane Doe who says she's a professional choreographer, dancer, model and musical artist ... and she claims Chris went from being friendly to raping her, in a matter of minutes.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the woman claims Chris grabbed the phone of a friend she was FaceTiming and urged her to come to Diddy's home ASAP on Miami's Star Island.

When she arrived there on Dec. 30, 2020, the woman claims Chris approached her and asked her if she wanted a drink, motioning her toward the kitchen area on the yacht.

In the docs, she claims she entered the kitchen with Chris, where he gave her a red cup with a mixed drink and they started talking. After he filled her cup a second time, she claims began to feel "a sudden, unexplained change in consciousness."

According to the suit, the woman claims she also felt "disoriented, physically unstable, and started to fall in and out of sleep" ... and that's when she says Chris led her into a bedroom while she was "drugged" and "half-asleep."

In the docs, the woman claims Chris closed the bedroom door, barring her attempt to leave, removed her bikini bottoms and started kissing her. She says she mumbled for Chris to stop, but he persisted and raped her.

The woman claims Chris ejaculated inside her, jumped up and announced he was "done."

She claims Chris texted her the next day and demanded she take Plan B. Although she was distraught, she claims she did exactly that.

She's suing Chris for $20 million in damages ... claiming the alleged rape is causing her severe emotional distress.

The woman's attorneys, Ariel Mitchell and George Vrabeck, tell us their client did not report the alleged rape to cops at the time because was a medical student and was embarrassed.

Mitchell and Vrabeck also say they're "committed to victims being heard and would urge anyone with information to contact them."

Kanye West has a radical new idea to address the homeless crisis in Los Angeles ... he wants the homeless to get some experience modeling clothes they make.

Here's the deal ... Kanye is working with streetwear brand Skid Row Fashion Week on a new collab and fashion show with the ultimate goal of helping the homeless.

David Sabastian, the founder of Skid Row Fashion Week, tells TMZ ... he met with Kanye earlier this month while Ye was recording 'Donda 2' at his studio in L.A.'s Arts District -- near Skid Row -- and they decided to create a Yeezy X Skid Row Fashion Week clothing collab.

David says his company donates a portion of all sales to helping those living on Skid Row and the factory that makes the clothes employs the homeless. In addition, the Yeezy collab will use 100% of the proceeds to help the homeless on Skid Row.

The fashion line drops Feb. 22 and we're told the money from sales will help hire more people struggling with homelessness to work at the Skid Row Fashion Week factory.

What's more, David says he and Kanye are in the early stages of planning a fashion show where they'd hire people from the SRFW factory to model the clothes.

We're told they also want items found on Skid Row to be integrated into the ensembles. One of the ideas being kicked around -- a trash bag puffer jacket.

Neil Young's catalog is no longer streaming on Spotify -- the rock legend told the platform it couldn't have him AND Joe Rogan, so Neil's gone ... but he's already found another home.

Young essentially gave Spotify an ultimatum earlier this week, claiming it's allowing Rogan to spread misinformation about COVID-19 on his immensely popular podcast. In a letter to his managers, he wrote, "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both."

Not shockingly, Spotify chose Rogan -- with whom it has a $100 million deal -- but it also responded to Neil's criticism about misinformation. Spotify says it's actually removed 20,000 clips containing false COVID-19 info since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, SiriusXM is seizing on all the Neil buzz this week ... announcing it's relaunching Neil Young Radio -- a channel spinning his catalog 24/7 -- for the next month. BTW, you can still find his music on other streaming platforms too.

The Antonio Brown cross-country turn up continues ... the NFL star spent Wednesday night partying with Rick Ross at the rapper's 46th birthday party in Miami, and TMZ Sports has video of the bash.

The ex-Bucs wideout hit up the invite-only, star-studded event last night at Mr. Hospitality's El Tucan restaurant in south Florida to celebrate another trip around the sun for Rozay (and the release of his new album, "Richer Than I Ever Been")

In addition to AB, we're told Nelly, Timbaland and French Montana were also in the house.

Brown and Ross are both Florida natives ... and have been friends for years. In fact, Ross made a cameo in AB's "Whole Lotta Money" music video.

Of course, AB pulled up in grand style ... sporting a grey suit and black turtleneck and lots of jewelry to accompany the drip.

Cardi B shining light on the death of Lauren Smith-Fields helped spur a criminal investigation in Connecticut ... so says the girl's family, who is applauding the singer.

Smith-Fields' family attorney Darnell Crosland tells TMZ ... Cardi was instrumental in getting Lauren's tragic death to become a criminal case, because police launched their investigation only after Cardi spoke out.

As you know ... 23-year-old Lauren died while on a date, back in December, with a man she met on a dating app. The medical examiner announced Monday Lauren died from an accidental drug overdose, which the family questioned ... and as public pressure continued to mount, police finally said Tuesday they were opening a criminal probe.

The family's attorney says Cardi B's Sunday night tweet calling for "Justice for Lauren" -- and accusing Connecticut of failing her -- brought extra attention and made a big impact ... because there's been a ton of progress ever since.

Adele is out and Keith Urban is in ... and it didn't take Caesars Palace long to find a replacement after the singer postponed her Las Vegas residency.

The country music singer says he's just been booked for 5 shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in March and April ... and some of those dates were previously reserved for Adele's shows.

Keith says he's playing the weekends of March 25-26 and April 1-2 ... plus a weekday gig on March 30, and those weekend dates used to be part of Adele's 3-month residency, which is now on ice.

TMZ broke the story ... Adele's Vegas residency is postponed because she's displeased with the production, and not because of her initial claims of a massive COVID outbreak on her crew.

As we told you, our sources said Adele was unhappy with the sound system, choir and various set pieces ... plus other items associated with the show, and the folks at Caesars were "shocked" when she pulled the plug at the last minute.

A Texas home owned by NBA YoungBoy -- where his mother currently lives -- became the target of an intense SWAT raid ... resulting in the arrests of 3 men and the seizure of multiple weapons.

A spokesperson for the Harris Co. Sheriff's Office tells TMZ, SWAT officers served a warrant at the property Tuesday morning. We're told NBA Youngboy purchased the home, and his mom, Sherhonda Gaulden, lives there ... although it's unclear if she was home when cops arrived.

Neither YoungBoy or his mother were arrested ... but cops call the 3 men who were busted associates of YoungBoy. We're told they were arrested on charges ranging from aggravated robbery to aggravated assault.

The Sheriff spokesperson, Thomas Gilliland, tells TMZ the arrests are related to the November shooting. Cops say the man was shot multiple times in the body and head, but survived and is out of the hospital now.

We're told the SWAT team also seized weapons, including AR-15s, pistols and long guns.

Travis Scott's fans are pushing hard for him to headline next year's Coachella, and even have a petition going to get him on stage this year ... and they're getting a big wave of support.

Following the tragedy at Astroworld, Travis has pulled out of multiple festivals, including Coachella, and while he's opting for a break ... his fans still want him to return to live performances.

The petition that's circulating online is pushing for a Coachella make-good -- they want organizers to commit to Travis being a headliner next year ... OR guarantee Kanye West brings him out as a guest during his set this year.

After 3 days, the petition has almost 70,000 signatures.

Keep in mind, there's another petition out there ... this one started immediately after 10 people died at Astroworld in Houston, and demanded Coachella ban Travis, who, at the time, was rumored to be headlining in the desert. Right now that one has 63,000 signatures and counting.

According to the new petition, many of Trav's fans feel Coachella did him dirty -- it says, "After Coachella unfairly removed Travis Scott for Harry Styles, they need to do the right thing and rebook him immediately."

It also absolves Travis of any wrongdoing in Houston, saying ... "We all know Astroworld tragedy wasn't Travis's fault. Let him get back to performing on the biggest stages!"

As for the potential guest spot with Ye? We do know they have the Kardashian-Jenners in common, and Ye recently thanked Trav for helping him find Chicago's birthday party.

Right now it seems unlikely he'd be up for performing -- especially because he voluntarily bowed out -- but then again, the festival's not until April.

One half of the hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd is behind bars, after allegedly attacking the mother of his child, knocking down a door and pulling her hair extensions out in the process.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Slim Jxmmi was arrested Tuesday morning in Miami for battery. Slim's girlfriend -- with whom he also shares a son -- told cops the rapper first got pissed after she had questioned him about a woman he was following on Twitter.

Cops say the GF told them Slim left their home with a friend shortly after the argument and returned a short time later smelling like alcohol. The alleged victim told cops when she attempted to move their sleeping child from his playpen to a bed, Slim pulled her hair so hard her extension was ripped from her scalp.

We're told Slim's GF told cops she tried to record his outrage with her phone -- which made him more pissed -- and he chased her around their home.

At one point, the alleged victim told cops she ran to a room and closed the door, but Slim kicked the door down, ripped the phone away, and threw it over a balcony to prevent her from posting the video on social media.

Cops say they recovered the phone, undamaged, on a nearby street when they were called to the scene.

We haven't seen much of Slim Jxmmi lately, however, he recently joined Swae Lee, the other half of Rae Sremmurd, at Rolling Loud in L.A.

We've reached out to a rep for Slim Jxmmi ... so far, no word back.

Neymar met Kanye West for the first time in Paris on Wednesday -- and the soccer superstar didn't come empty-handed for the occasion, bringing the musician a custom "Ye" jersey.

Neymar also showered Kanye with praise on his social media following their meet-up ... calling the "Hurricane" performer a "legend."

"Nice to meet u legend 👏🏽," Neymar said while sharing two pictures from their get-together.

Kanye is, of course, in town for Fashion Week ... and he was able to see Neymar during a tour of the soccer superstar's Paris Saint-German facilities.

The two were clearly pumped to meet each other ... you can see in one of the pics the guys were smiling ear-to-ear.

It's unclear how big of a soccer fan Ye is ... but we do know he's a huge sports guy -- he's spotted at big games in the U.S. regularly and he even started his own high school basketball team at Donda Academy last year.

There's apparently only one Kim Kardashian and Ray J sex tape in the Universe ... and while Kim's thankful Kanye recently retrieved a laptop with footage from Ray, we're told there's nothing sexual about the unseen content.

Kanye made waves during his Hollywood Unlocked interview Monday when he shared he'd delivered the device to Kim during her recent stint on 'SNL,' causing her to cry happy tears when she saw it.

Many speculated the laptop contained a rumored second sex tape between Ray J and Kim -- but a rep for Kim tells us that's just not the case -- "After review, there was nothing sexual unseen, only footage on the plane on the way to Mexico and footage at a club and restaurant on the same trip. Kim remains firm in her belief that there is no new second tape that exists." Page 6 first had the statement.

Sources close to Kim tell us while the sex tape has been a source of embarrassment, she won't forget Kanye's gesture in retrieving the material from Ray J.

The source notes that both Kim and Kanye are sensitive as co-parents, and how the continued talk of the tape may affect their kids, "Especially when it's continued to be brought up in a way that's thoughtless and intended to cause more pain."

Interestingly -- it's been Ray J's former manager, Wack 100, who teased the existence of a second sex tape since last year -- and Kanye's been hanging with Wack lately. Kanye says he had met with Ray in Florida and was given the laptop.

Snoop Dogg has a huge gig on Super Bowl Sunday -- sharing the stage with Dr. Dre and co. -- but he has a different collab floating around in his head ... doing a song with Sade!!!

Check out this video of Snoop chilling in his Inglewood studio with some friends, and when someone asks if there's anyone left in music he wants to work with ... he only hesitated to take a hit of his joint before wistfully announcing it's Sade.

When the topic came up earlier this month, Snoop's revelation got a huge reaction in the room -- everyone thought it was a great idea, and encouraged him to make it happen. What's really interesting here is ... the Doggfather and Sade have some history.

You gotta see his story about the first, and only, time he's seen the "Smooth Operator" singer in concert -- apparently she had some crazy effects and even disappeared at a point -- but, even better, is what almost happened backstage at the show!

Now, Snoop -- who's about to crush the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar -- makes it clear there's no plan for Sade and him to record ... at least not yet. He definitely hoping this video gets him a step closer to his dream duet.

In his words ... let's "put a bat signal in the air."

If you're wondering what kinda track Snoop would wanna do with her? Well, he's a big fan of her smoothed-out loved songs -- one in particular.