Music

Kanye West's GF Julia Fox is addressing reports that she once dated Drake ... she says "nothing really happened" ... the question, what does "really" mean?

Julia used her "Forbidden Fruits" podcast to address the Drake rumors ... "He's a great guy and a gentleman, and that was it. Nothing really happened, we were just, like, friends hanging out. I wouldn't say that we were dating."

Not hard to read between the lines here ... but it's tricky because of the complicated relationship between Ye and Breezy.

She says when she got together with Kanye, she was an open book ... "Obviously, when I first started speaking to Ye, I told him immediately -- I think on the first day, before it went any further, because I'm just an honest person."

The Joe Burrow and Kid Cudi bromance keeps growing stronger ... 'cause the Bengals QB just gifted his childhood idol with the jersey he wore in Sunday's AFC Championship Game!!

Cudi revealed that after Cincy's huge victory on Sunday ... he hit up Joey B and asked if he could have the game-worn threads.

"Ok. So after the Bengals win against the Chiefs, I hit Joe and congratulated him and asked if I could have his jersey," Cudi wrote on social media.

And, Burrow wasted no time holding up on his promise -- shipping it right to the Cleveland native just 5 days after the Bengals secured their spot in the Super Bowl.

"Rockin' this bitch to the game and then framing it," Cudi said Friday. "I am so geeked right now."

Of course, Joe Cool is known for his on-field connection with his teammate Ja'Marr Chase ... but as of late, it's Cudi that Burrow has had all the chemistry with.

Joe got a shoutout from Cudi -- who was celebrating his 38th birthday the night of the game -- after the Bengals big win.

The two have a budding relationship that started when Burrow was drafted with the #1 overall draft pick out of LSU ... and this latest gesture from Joey Franchise is proof of that.

Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong's 'Masked Singer' walkout over Rudy Giuliani being a contestant will not be a long-term protest -- both judges are back on the job, and looking pretty damn happy too.

Ken and Robin joined their fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg Thursday for a photo shoot to promote the show's upcoming 7th season. The fact they're still all in to hype the show is a great sign they're willing to sweep Giuliani-gate under the rug

As TMZ reported … During the first taping of the season, Donald Trump's former attorney was the first to get kicked off the show, and when he was unmasked to the judges and audience members, Robin and Ken walked right off set -- a clear protest of his participation in the show.

That all went down last week, but Thursday all seemed forgiven during the shoot outside "The Masked Singer" studio.

While there were some complaints when Sarah Palin appeared on the show back in 2020 ... it was nothing as visceral as Ken and Robin storming off the stage.

Kanye West's desire to rename Black History Month is totally off the mark ... according to noted philosopher Cornel West, who's taking a moment to ring the school bell for Ye.

We got the former Harvard and Princeton professor Thursday at L.A.'s Sunset Plaza, and took a deeper diver with him into Ye's announcement that "FEBRUARY IS NOW BLACK FUTURE MONTH" ... instead of BHM.

Well, Prof. West started out by giving Mr. West some props, calling him a genius ... but adding he's "confused" in many ways. Cornel says the idea that BHM is only about Black people's past is misguided. Check out his explanation, but the Prof. says it's very much about the future as well.

C-Dub says he thinks Ye understands this concept, because he hears it in his music -- but, for some reason, he loses it outside of the studio. Or, as he put it, "There's a sense of which his artistry is so much more profound than his rhetoric."

It's clear he's got love for Ye, though -- he wonders if they're distant relatives -- and he compliments one of Kanye's tracks, in particular ... before playfully urging the rapper to "get off that symbolic crack pipe."

Yes, Cornel came in hot with the jokes. BTW, he also dropped some jewels for T-Pain, who told us he doesn't think there should be a Black History Month anymore.

Kanye West has not only bagged a girlfriend, he's bagged all of her friends. Let us explain.

Ye took GF Julia Fox and her friends out for a birthday bash at Lucien in New York City, and following tradition Julia -- who turned 32 -- opened her presents with considerable excitement as Kanye and Co. looked on.

He got her some jewelry which we're pretty sure is super expensive, but that wasn't the extent of his gift-giving. Everyone at the table -- Julia and her pals -- all got Baby Birkins. It's good to know Julia, especially now!

Seems there was a dress code for the soiree ... all black.

Julia followed tradition, blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. Lots of desserts came out ... one after the other.

Kanye and Julia also hit new hot spot, Sei Less, before the night was over. The two were joined by the likes of Dave Chapelle and Fivio Foreign ... where Kanye played songs from his upcoming Donda 2 album.

Of course, it was a madhouse when Ye left the building, with fans, cameras and autograph seekers all wanting a piece.

Rihanna is fully embracing her journey to becoming a mother ... proudly showing off her bun in the oven.

RiRi just posted a brand new photo of her growing baby bump ... and it looks like she's clearly far along in her pregnancy.

As we reported ... Rihanna is pregnant with her first child, and the baby's father is boyfriend A$AP Rocky. The pregnancy was just revealed Monday, and Rihanna captioned Wednesday's baby bump photo, "how the gang pulled up to black history month."

She also included a bunch of other baby bump pics ... but we've already shown you those. This new photo is much more intimate, she's lifting up a jersey to show what's underneath.

The baby's sex is still unclear ... but Rihanna's dad Ronald Fenty says he's hoping it's a baby girl ... in part because he's already got a couple grandsons.

Tons of celebs are leaving a bunch of cute and supportive comments on Rihanna's post ... so she's not the only one thrilled about the baby bump.

T-Pain is not here for folks celebrating Black History Month -- instead, he says Black people should always be recognized in history, and the rash of HBCU bomb threats prove the nation's still too divided.

When we caught up with rapper/producer at LAX he shared his thoughts about the bomb threats this week at more than a dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities ... just as BHM was beginning.

To T-Pain, this sorta harassment is, unfortunately, normal -- as he points out, Black students have been blocked from getting educations, in different ways, for hundreds of years.

He says the only way these things will stop is if "we [Black people] make our own s**t" ... adding the fact that just 'cause it's an HBCU, doesn’t mean it’s owned by Black folks.

As far as the kids at these schools, Pain says stay strong... and for everybody else, the rapper says we should all stop celebrating BHM completely.

He says he doesn't think we should just have one month of Black History. Instead, he says "we want to be a part of history, not just one month of it."

Rudy Giuliani's just as polarizing in reality TV, as he is in politics -- 2 'Masked Singer' judges revolted during a taping where Rudy was revealed as the mystery singer!!!

The taping went down last week, the first episode of the show's upcoming season, and -- not shockingly, we think -- Rudy was the first contestant eliminated. TMZ has confirmed ... as soon as the mask came off Rudy's head, Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong blew their tops.

As Deadline first reported, the judges were pissed and walked off the stage in protest.

Donald Trump's former attorney and advisor made jaws drop in the studio -- which is not uncommon during 'Masked' reveals, but we're told Robin and Ken's response went beyond the common reaction.

Young Buck got busted in Nashville after allegedly kicking the crap out of his ex-girlfriend's car ... TMZ has learned.

According to the arrest affidavit, obtained by TMZ, Nashville police officers responded to a domestic disturbance Wednesday involving Young Buck and his ex.

Cops say when they got to the woman's home, she told them Young Buck texted her early in the morning that he was coming over. Police say the woman told them Young Buck began kicking the front door when she did not answer.

Buck's ex also told cops she went outside after he bounced and noticed damage to both the passenger and driver side of her car, which was parked in the driveway.

Police say they confirmed there was damage to the woman's car, and there was security footage of the alleged incident.

Not long after, cops say they found Young Buck driving the car he took to the woman's home and he was arrested during a traffic stop.

Young Buck was booked into jail on a vandalism charge ... but he's already out on a $1,000 bond.

Michael Jackson has moonwalked on down to Broadway -- and on opening night ... his kids saw him take the stage anew, but not without some hand-wringing.

All three of MJ's children attended the world premiere of "MJ: The Musical" Tuesday night in the Big Apple, with Paris and her older brother, Prince, stepping out in front of cameras before curtains were raised ... posing proudly side by side.

Michael's daughter wore a chic red patterned dress, and Prince kept it classic with a black suit and tie. Their younger brother, Prince Michael (aka Blanket), was later seen exiting the Neil Simon Theatre with his siblings, also suited and booted.

While adoring MJ fans were thrilled to see the late performer's brood show up for him in force ... critics could not be appeased, because they're pissed about the contents of the play itself -- specifically, what it covers ... or rather, what it doesn't cover.

Word is, the show follows Michael's life in the early '90s when he embarked on his now-famous "Dangerous" world tour, during which he traversed the globe for an astonishing number of concerts and banked millions upon millions of dollars for charitable efforts.

Sounds great ... but the problem is, there's no mention of a huge scandal he faced at the time -- namely, accusations of child abuse and a subsequent lawsuit from Jordan Chandler and his family, whom Michael eventually settled with for a rumored $23 million.

Because the Broadway production skips over that topic entirely, some are calling it a sanitized version of MJ's legacy ... particularly this chapter of it.

Maluma celebrated another trip around the sun in style ... because he got surprised with a birthday party at a massive mansion, and a five-figure dessert was the icing on the cake!!!

A rep for Maluma tells TMZ ... Hennessy V.S.O.P surprised Maluma Sunday with a birthday bash at a $25 million mansion outside Vegas.

Maluma's collabing with the alcohol brand on designing a new bottle ... and we're told his surprise party included a chocolate cake designed as an exact replica of his Hennessey bottle, and it cost $10,000.

We're told the cake's designer, Flora Aghababyan, has also made cakes for celebs like Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and Celine Dion, just to name a few.

Maluma didn't spend the night at the mansion, but the place is incredible ... the 4-bedroom estate is decked out with 2 infinity saltwater pools and a spa!!!

The 28th birthday celebration also included a boozy brunch with Maluma's closest family and friends, with a DJ and mariachi band performing some of his favorite classic Spanish songs.

Simon Cowell did it again ... he crashed his e-bike and landed in the hospital with broken bones.

Sources tell TMZ ... Simon was tooling around on the bike in London last Thursday when he turned a sharp corner ... or at least he tried to turn. The road was wet and the tires went out from under him and he crashed to the ground.

We're told Simon broke his left arm and badly bruised his cheek. He may have also have suffered a concussion.

Simon went to the hospital where he was treated and released the same day, sporting a bright yellow cast.

As we reported, this was not Simon's first crash ... in August, 2020, he got a brand-spankin' new e-bike and literally got on it in his driveway and it lunged forward, crashing and as a result, Simon broke his back in 3 places.

Now, if Simon happens to read this ... wear a helmet, dude!!! He wasn't wearing one in either crash, and but for the grace of God, he could have suffered way more severe injuries.

As ecstatic as the Internet's been about Rihanna revealing she's expecting her first baby ... her Dad is even more excited, and sharing his hopes for the new grandchild.

Granddad-to-be Ronald Fenty opened up about Rihanna's bun in the oven, saying she gave him the heads up the day before the pics of her and A$AP Rocky went public. He says he's met A$AP a few times, and is totally confident he and RiRi will be great parents.

As for the baby... Ronald says he's hoping his daughter has a girl, since he already has 2 grandsons. If it doesn't happen this time around, he could possibly get more chances ... cause he tells us that Rihanna's told him she wants to have 3 children.

Ronald also says he's looking forward to a wedding in the near future, because he wants them to make things really official.

It's nice to see Ronald singing Rih's praises -- as you might remember, they haven't had the best father-daughter relationship in the past.

Back in 2019, Rihanna sued her dad for allegedly using her Fenty brand and his relationship with her to launch his own entertainment company. They eventually squashed the dispute and she dropped the case a few weeks before it was scheduled to go to court.

Kanye West has lots of drama with Kim Kardashian at the moment ... but he looks like a man without a care in the world, at least while he's surrounded by hot chicks at the beach.

Ye was all laughs and smiles as he chatted up some sexy women Sunday, soaking up golden hour on an oceanfront balcony at Soho's Little Beach House Malibu.

Kanye looks happy as a clam here ... just check out the gallery and the videos ... and it's worth noting the ladies he's talking to are NOT girlfriend Julia Fox, but they are strikingly similar. Guess Ye's got a type.

There are lots of reasons for Kanye to be stressing about Kim ... the kids, the divorce, Pete Davidson -- but those all seem, at least temporarily, forgotten in the right seaside setting ... with the right company.

Outside the restaurant, Kanye was dressed in his traditional all-black Balenciaga look ... complete with a mask covering his entire head -- but his personality on the balcony was pretty damn bright and cheery.

If you're looking for a blast from the past – and have $500,000 lying around – this sweet ride would've been perfect.

Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am went up at Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale 2022 auction, and the lucky buyer paid one pretty penny for it.

With the final bid at $495,000, this 8-cylinder beast is going home to a hardcore car enthusiast – and hopefully a film buff! Reynolds drove the same type of car in his hit film, "Smokey and the Bandit."

While it isn’t the car that appeared on screen, it was a congratulatory gift for his work on the flick … fitting as it was the second-highest-grossing film of that year. To make it even more special, this is the only '77 Trans Am that Reynolds ever owned and he signed the glovebox!

Burt’s car wasn’t the only whip up for auction … Pitbull had his custom 2022 Karma GS-6 EV up for sale, nicknamed "305 EDITION." It went for $700k with all the proceeds going to benefit the Selfless Love Foundation and Pitbull's SLAM foundation.

David Spade’s 1968 Chevy Chevelle Custom Coupe went on the auction block as well and fetched $374k.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are expecting, and they are showing off that baby bump with style!

The two were absolutely glowing out in Harlem (his hometown). Her outfit seems to compliment the reveal super well … with a gold cross and some jewels resting on the bump! They weren’t out long, as it seemed pretty chilly out there, before heading back to their apartment.

The couple has been friends for years, but started dating back at the end of 2020, and have been inseparable ever since … TMZ reported at the beginning of that year, they were seen hanging out quite a bit after her breakup with Hassan Jameel, and speculation started flying around about the now-lovebirds.

Since they’ve gone public, they’ve been spotted out in NYC nonstop.