Music

Pharrell is giving back -- not only is he hosting a huge music festival in our nation's capital, but he's hooking up the kids who go to school there ... or at least the grads, anyway.

The rapper/producer announced Friday that he's dishing out free tickets to his mega music event, Something in the Water, for all graduating seniors in the D.C. public school system to celebrate the achievement of getting through high school.

Not just that ... but Pharrell says he's especially inspired by the fact they got through these past couple years with COVID restrictions in place -- and still made it across the finish line.

He says to commemorate the achievement ... he's issuing one free general admission pass per graduating student for SITW next weekend, which is going down right there in town. Pharrell tells the seniors to check with their school teachers/leaders to redeem the gift.

As for how many tickets this might end up amounting to ... it's a bit unclear. Pharrell only said this applies to grads in the public school system -- and according to their website, there are just over 2,000 seniors enrolled this year. No word on how many are graduating.

It would seem the breadth of the giveaway is larger though -- because the Mayor chimed in by saying charter schools are included. It's probably in the low thousands somewhere.

Britney Spears is celebrating a bunch of "fairytale" moments from her wedding day -- including her own horse-drawn, Disney princess arrival to marry Sam Asghari.

Turns out Brit made quite the entrance Thursday night in a carriage covered in flowers ... before meeting Sam at the altar.

This video takes fans behind the scenes of some of Brit and Sam's fashion planning with Versace, shows them saying their vows ... and posing for a bunch of pics after the nuptials.

While most brides might wait for a wine night with friends to screen their wedding videos -- Brit decided to share at least some of hers with fans, and you can tell she's still over the moon about how it all came together.

She captioned her post, "Fairytales are real."

BTW, the soundtrack on her vid ... "Can't Help Falling in Love" ... is what was playing when she walked down the aisle -- and the video includes Versace sketches of the bride and groom in the gown and tux they wore for their big day.

Britney admitted she'd gotten super nervous about the event -- although she didn't mention anything about her ex-husband, Jason Alexander, showing up uninvited to her house -- but clearly, that didn't help her nerves.

Azealia Banks says she's getting screwed over, and even though her anger doesn't seem to be at fans ... she still took it out on them during a Pride performance in Miami.

Azealia was onstage early Saturday morning -- around 3 AM -- for the Wynwood Pride concert, and was VERY over being there. The controversial rapper -- who performed with her boobs all the way out -- started ranting about promoters jerking her around about her set times and whether she's the headliner.

She brazenly told the crowd, "I'm really not happy to be here." Azealia rambled a little more, and said she knew it wasn't the fans' fault ... but she clearly wanted off that stage. She said, "I'm trying y'all, but it's difficult."

Seems like the concert promoters had enough though, because when Azealia repeated her frustration by saying, "I really don't wanna f***ing be here" ... someone cut off her mic.

That only pissed her off more, and pulled a spot-on mic drop ... and left the stage in a huff.

Now, mind you ... Azealia had only done about 4 songs at that point, so you can hear the crowd get restless -- everyone started booing when they realized she wasn't coming back.

Azealia was already an odd pick to headline the event ... considering she's come under fire, for good reason, from the LGBTQ+ community in the past. Remember, she's called HIV/AIDS patients sex addicts, and dropped a homophobic epithet on a flight attendant.

Justin Bieber has been battling a serious virus, one that has left the right side of his face paralyzed ... and he'll need to take some time off to work on getting better.

The singer posted a video Friday explaining to fans why he's had to postpone several shows over the last week, explaining he's been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. Bieber says it's affected a nerve in his ear, causing the paralysis.

As visible in the video, Justin is unable to blink with one of his eyes, and can only smile with one side of his mouth.

While JB apologizes to fans for having to have missed the recent shows, he says the whole thing is "pretty serious" and that he'll need to take an undetermined amount of time off to work on getting healthy.

He says he's been doing facial exercises, and that with work, everything will get back to normal -- it's just not clear how long that'll take.

Blueface will be looking to break face on July 30 -- the rapper is slated to fight ex-NBA player Nick Young in a boxing match.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the "Thotiana" MC and NBA champ are going to face off in the ring at Crypto.com Arena as part of the Social Gloves event starring YouTubers Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib.

Blueface has a bit of history in the ring -- he beat up on TikToker Kane Trujillo in July 2021 ... and ended up having to throw hands that same night after a fan attacked him in the ring.

Young is less experienced ... but he's never shied away from calling people out for a fight in the past. He's previously voiced interest in boxing Logan Paul, Gilbert Arenas and Chad Ochocinco.

We broke the story -- ex-NFL star Le'Veon Bell is also slated to take a fight on the same card ... although his opponent has not been announced.

Britney Spears' ex-husband Jason Alexander has made continuous attempts to connect with the singer in person, and showed up armed with a knife to her wedding ... according to cops.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office has filed an emergency protective order against Jason Alexander after the man showed up uninvited to Britney's home Thursday. The doc reads, in part, "(He) has continually trespassed on her property. Alexander advised multiple times no welcomed."

Cops say Alexander was armed with a knife when he crashed the wedding and made his way inside Britney's L.A. home.

The order states Jason must stay at least 100 yards away from both Sam and Britney as well as her home.

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, tells TMZ, "I want to thank Sergeant Cyrus Zadeh, Detective Ken Michaelson, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for their prompt and good work and look forward to working with law enforcement to ensure Alexander is aggressively prosecuted and hopefully convicted. This was an outrageous security breach, which I am livid about, but fortunately, Britney is safe and she was a beautiful and happy bride."

Britney Spears' wish has come true, she's a married woman, once again -- and despite the wild efforts of one ex-husband -- her wedding to Sam Asghari went off without a hitch.

The bride wore a white Versace gown (as expected) with a long flowing veil, her groom was dashing in a black Versace tuxedo ... as they said their "I Dos" in a short and sweet ceremony in front of about 100 celeb guests and a few family members.

Brit and Sam did it right ... the ceremony -- held under a lavish tent on the property of their Thousand Oaks home -- was a perfect 10 minutes long. The same guy who officiated Paris Hilton's wedding a few months ago -- Rev. Clint Hufft -- did the honors Thursday night.

And, then it was time to party with folks like Madonna, Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Donatella Versace, will.i.am and, of course, Paris ... who played a key role during the festivities. She actually got on the mic, and got Britney to join her as they sang Paris' banger, "Stars Are Blind."

Also in attendance ... Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, who helped free her from her conservatorship.

As for traditions ... the bride and groom opted to pass on most of that stuff. As you know, Britney's mother, sister and father were not there. Nobody gave her away, and they didn't do a first dance.

If you're looking for traditions ... well, Britney and Madonna shared a kiss -- taking everyone back to their iconic VMAs moment. Selena joined them at one point, dancing to "Toxic."

Brit did make several dress changes -- rocking red and black minidresses and a two-tone dress later in the evening, and she wore jewelry designed by Stephanie Gottlieb, including a $100K 27-carat heart-shaped diamond tennis necklace.

One odd family moment ... as we'd told you, Britney's brother, Bryan, was supposed to attend -- he and a date we're all dressed up shortly before the wedding -- but he ended up no-showing for the big night.

We're guessing Britney was unfazed, because the party proceeded.

She and Sam left the ceremony at 10:15 PM in the white Rolls-Royce with red interior that they've been rolling around in most of this week -- and, yes, they did the "Just Married" sign too.

The blushing bride kept her face hidden from photogs as they drove off, but Sam looked pretty damn proud in a black tee with "Britney & Sam" lettering.

The lovebirds met back in 2016 when Sam was booked for Britney's "Slumber Party" music video, and they've since been going strong ... with Sam popping the question in September.

Cut to 9 months later, and they pulled off a successful and spectacular evening ... especially when you consider all the chaos that went down just a few hours before Brit walked down the aisle.

As TMZ first reported, her first ex-hubby, Jason Alexander -- to whom she was married with for 55 hours back in 2004 -- made his way onto the property, into the house and even the wedding tent before security took him down until cops arrived to arrest him.

Alexander was booked for trespassing, vandalism and battery. He remains in custody on an outstanding felony warrant for grand theft out of Napa County.

Tensions were seriously high between Kylie Jenner and Tristan Thompson after his latest cheating scandal, but the two found themselves under the same roof at a party with friends where they were almost certainly forced to mingle.

Kylie and TT were in Hollywood Thursday to celebrate model and Kylie's BFF Stassie Karanikolaou's birthday. There were a bunch of their other celeb friends there too -- like Kendall Jenner, Devin Booker, G-Eazy and Addison Rae.

Tyga, who Kylie dated years ago was also in attendance.

However, Tristan showed up as well, he's close with Zack Bia -- who also had a bday -- and Kylie left not long after.

Unclear if she'd just had enough celebrating, or if there's still a bit of animosity there, "The Kardashians" episode detailing Tristan's cheating on Khloe Kardashian aired just hours before ... so it's possible things were still tense.

Cops came to break the whole thing up late into the night, but it doesn't appear there were any issues, and everyone cleared out pretty quickly after they showed up.

As we reported, Tristan became the rightful target of the wrath of Kim and co. on this week's episode ... which showed the moment Kim Kardashian found out he'd gotten another woman pregnant while he was still dating Khloe.

Kim read legal docs out loud in which TT admitted to having sex with a woman named Maralee Nichols, who claimed she was about to father Tristan's son. She then called Kylie to explain, to which she responds, "Is Tristan the worst person on the planet?"

Columbus Short is over the moon that his ex, Britney Spears, is tying the knot and he's even sending her love on her big day ... in lieu of a wedding gift, of course.

You could say the former "Scandal" star's hoping to catch some inspiration from Brit -- when we saw him Thursday at LAX, he said he's excited Britney found her special someone, and added he's been working on that for himself.

Columbus tells us it's time for her to get her happy on ... after all, she's been working hard the last few decades, and fought even harder during her recent conservatorship battle. Columbus thinks now's her time to live life to the fullest.

He's keeping the love for her strong despite allegations her parents had referred to him with a racial slur during his brief time with Britney. They'd met while he was doing choreography and backup dancing for her in the early 2000s.

Columbus' good vibes are the polar opposite of what Britney's ex-husband Jason Alexander pulled on her wedding day.

Britney Spears' wedding was just dramatically interrupted, as her first husband, Jason Alexander, showed up trying to crash the event ... resulting in a police response.

Jason went live on Instagram Thursday as he approached event security -- telling him Britney had invited him -- and that she was his first and only wife, and he was going to crash the event before some kind of physical struggle. Alexander's phone then freezes up.

Somehow, Alexander was able to make it inside Britney's home, where he continued to live stream. He was eventually restrained outside.

We're told the Ventura County Sheriff's Department responded for a trespassing call, and are still on the scene.

Alexander showed public support for Britney during the #FreeBritney movement -- he attended a rally outside an L.A. courthouse back in August 2020 and told our cameras he and Britney had recently been in communication.

Britney and Jason got married in January 2004 in a spur-of-the-moment ceremony in Vegas ... and called it quits just 55 hours later.

TMZ broke the story -- Britney and Sam Asghari are set to tie the knot in an L.A. ceremony Thursday.

The husband of country music singer Sara Evans won't spend any time behind bars in his domestic violence case ... TMZ has learned.

The Nashville DA's Office tells us ... Jay Barker, a former Univ. of Alabama quarterback, ended up agreeing to a "best interest plea" in which he pled down from felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon to misdemeanor reckless endangerment.

As we reported, Jay was arrested back in January for allegedly trying to slam his car into the car in which Sara was riding.

Cops say Sara told them she was in the passenger seat of a friend's car, leaving a party when she saw Jay gunning his car in reverse, trying to hit them.

Sara and her friend got lucky, though ... cops say Jay missed his alleged target.

Court docs show Jay was put on a year of probation as part of his plea deal ... and we're told he has to keep his nose clean, forfeit all weapons and complete a 26-week batterers intervention program.

Halsey is firing back at their former nanny who is suing the singer over being fired ... the singer says the nanny was simply fired for a potential danger to Halsey’s kid.

Here's the deal ... Halsey's former nanny, Ashley Funches, is reportedly suing the singer for disability discrimination and retaliation, claiming she was fired for taking time off work for an emergency medical procedure.

But Halsey doesn't see things the same way.

A rep for Halsey tells TMZ ... "These allegations are baseless. This individual’s employment was recently terminated in response to specific incidents in which Halsey’s infant was left unsupervised in an unsafe location while under the nanny’s care, and it was discovered the nanny was intoxicated while the child was in her care."

They continue, "Furthermore, at no time during this individual’s term of employment with Halsey were any complaints even raised. Consequently, while Halsey is both saddened and disappointed by this turn of events, they feel it is important to refute these allegations publicly, as they take ableism and ethical working conditions very seriously."

Sam Asghari is gettin' his final reps in before he ties the knot with Britney Spears -- no, not practicing his vows -- he's getting a pump at the gym.

Sam was spotted leaving the gym in Thousand Oaks Thursday, just hours before his big day. Can't blame him for getting away for a bit -- the guy's gotta look his best for his soon-to-be bride -- and all of the couple's friends and family that'll be in attendance.

On his way out, Sam was peppered with questions -- including who'd walk Britney down the aisle and why her boys aren't coming -- but he kept quiet.

TMZ broke the story, Britney and Sam are getting hitched Thursday in L.A. with about 100 guests. Britney's mom, dad and sister are not expected to attend -- and neither will her two boys ... though they wish the best for their mom and her new hubby.

Britney Spears will have a limited number of friends and family in attendance at her wedding, a group that will not include her sons, who still wish their mom the best, TMZ has learned.

TMZ broke the story, Britney and Sam will tie the knot Thursday in Los Angeles. Spears' brother, Bryan, is expected to be in attendance ... but her mom, dad, sister Jamie Lynn and Brit's two boys will not be there.

Kevin Federline's powerhouse attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, tells us 16-year-old Sean Preston and 15-year-old Jayden James will not be going. He adds, "Although the boys will not be in attendance, Kevin and the boys are happy for Britney and wish her and Sam all the best going forward."

Our sources say about 100 people are expected to be there to watch Sam and Britney say their "I dos" at a tented ceremony.

Britney posted a video of herself with Sam Wednesday with a glass of champagne and freshly decorated nails ... presumably ready for the big day.

Hollywood Harlow in full effect -- Jack Harlow is on set for his acting debut in the "White Men Can't Jump" reboot ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

As we previously reported, the "First Class" rapper landed the gig after crushing his first-ever audition ... playing Billy Hoyle, which was Woody Harrelson's role in the original film back in 1992.

The project appears to be well on its way ... as Harlow was spotted making his rounds on set at a basketball court in Venice.

Of course, Harlow is working alongside Sinqua Walls in the flick ... who was picked to play Wesley Snipes' Sidney Deane role, despite Quavo's hopes of getting his name called.

The project is backed by Kenya Barris, NBA star Blake Griffin, NFLer Ryan Kalil and Noah Weinstein of Mortal Media ... and is directed by Calmatic.

Other actors on board include Lance Reddick, Teyana Taylor, Andrew Schulz and Laura Harrier ... so some of those names were probably on set as well.

Britney Spears' big day is finally here -- and wedding prep continues -- with a massive tent popping up, where she'll say her "I do's" to fiancé Sam Asghari.

Check out the photos ... you can see crews hard at work outside the L.A. location while they put some of the finishing touches in place. The white tent appears to be there for max privacy, with a staircase leading to the entrance. You can imagine there are plenty of flowers, tables and chairs being packed inside as well.

TMZ broke the story -- Britney and Sam will get married Thursday in an intimate ceremony of about 100 close friends and family members. We're told Britney's brother, Bryan, will be there ... but her sister, Jamie Lynn, and her parents were not invited.

It's also still not clear who will give Britney away at the altar -- or if they'll even have a traditional ceremony.