Music

Michael Flatley's battling cancer again ... but this time he says it's an "aggressive form" and he's already gone under the knife.

The "Lord of the Dance" creator revealed his diagnosis Wednesday, saying he's "been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer."

Michael also says he's "undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors" ... and now he's asking for prayers and well-wishes.

The "Riverdance" legend has already beaten cancer once ... just last year Michael revealed how he fought skin cancer way back in 2003, crediting a fan for spotting the early signs of malignant melanoma on his body.

Michael's on the record saying his first bout with cancer changed his outlook on life ... he says it made him want to live every moment, gave him more focus on his career, and taught him to value friends and loved ones more than material possessions.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka just shared a major life update -- she's expecting her first child ... and TMZ Sports has confirmed it's with rapper Cordae!!

The 25-year-old made the announcement just minutes ago ... saying, "The past few years have been interesting to say the least, but I find that its the most challenging times in life that may be the most fun. These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I've dedicated my life to."

Osaka shared a picture of a sonogram on Twitter ... adding, "I realize that life is so short and I don't take any moments for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure. I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, 'that's my mom,' haha."

Osaka -- who went public with Cordae in 2019 -- says she will not be competing in the meantime ... but plans to return for the Australian Open in 2024.

"I don't think there's a perfectly correct path to take in life but I always felt that if you move forward with good intentions you'll find your way eventually," she added.

Gunna has access to his social media accounts again and in a defiant return, he's defending his status with YSL … the label, that is.

In his first IG post since taking the Alford plea deal that got him sprung from prison on December 14 ... Gunna called for Young Thug and Yak Gotti's freedom, and reiterated his allegiance to the crew.

Gunna also let off a belated RIP to Lil Keed, as he was incarcerated at the time of Keed's death in May 2022 ... which was recently discovered to be the result of a blood cell disorder.

The post didn't sit well with Keed's brother, Lil Gotit, who showed his emotions when he, incorrectly, thought Gunna was referring to him when he called Keed his "twin."

Young Thug's brother Unfoonk also flexed some umbrage ... flipping Gunna's patented P emoji against him while slamming the post.

We recently bumped into Thug's sister Dolly White and Gotit at LAX and her reaction was pretty similar to Unfoonk's -- Gunna still has some explaining to do!!!

Convincing the YSL collective is only half Gunna's battle reentering the rap game.

A$AP Rocky caught Rihanna’s manager trying to sneak in a couple of winks as they chowed down on a post-Golden Globes dinner … so he whipped out his phone to clown the dude!

Rocky and Rihanna were out in Santa Monica at their favorite eatery, when Rocky got the heads up Roc Nation exec Jay Brown was snoozing in the car ... a magic moment for professional and amateur photogs like Rocky.

Jay was out cold and at a point, Rocky decided enough was enough, so he waived off the cameras and knocked on the hood ... which served as a wake-up call.

Rihanna was nominated at the Globes for “Best Original Song in a Motion Picture” for the track “Lift Me Up” from the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack.

The song lost out to “Naatu Naatu” from the Indian film “RRR” ... but RiRi still turned heads inside the Bev Hilton … decked out in a gown by Daniel Roseberry.

The stage is now set for Rihanna’s big Super Bowl Halftime performance next month, where she’s admitted to having a few pregame jitters.

New photos show the horror from the night Tory Lanez shot Meg Thee Stallion in the foot after an argument in Hollywood ... including the damage done to Meg's foot and the weapon used to commit the crime.

We've obtained several trial exhibits from the Meg and Tory case that show everything from the blood in the backseat of the SUV, to the condition and X-rays of Meg's foot after she was hospitalized.

You can see blood splattered in the vehicle, from when Meg got back inside after Tory shot her ... there's also blood smeared on a suitcase that was in the vehicle.

For the first time, we're also seeing the pistol Tory used to shoot Meg, laying on the ground near the backseat of the SUV.

As we reported, Tory was found guilty of all three charges against him -- felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm back in December.

Singer Malu Trevejo is devastated by allegations she was abusive to people who used to work for her ... and she's planning to fight a lawsuit recently filed against her.

Here's the deal ... Malu is being sued in Florida by four people who say they used to work for her. The suit alleges Malu inflicted emotional, mental and verbal abuse on some of her former staffers ... and they're going after her for at least $4 million.

Malu's attorney, Jason Ziven, tells TMZ ... "Ms. Trevejo is aware of the false allegations in the lawsuit and looks forward to defending herself against these baseless claims."

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, folks who say they used to work for Malu claim she would use the r-word and berate them with racial slurs, often hurling obscenities their way too, if they didn't respond to her texts and calls as quickly as she wanted.

One source close to Malu tells TMZ … she's devastated by these allegations and Malu would never hurt anyone in this way.

Coachella has dropped this year's highly anticipated lineup ... and some of the biggest artists are comin' to bring the house down.

Bad Bunny is set to hit the stage Friday, with Gorillaz, Metro Boomin, and Pusha T goin' all out throughout the day, amongst others. Idris Elba is also touching down on day 1, performing as a DJ for the crowd.

Saturday's headliner is K-pop group BLACKPINK -- while other performances that day will come from Rosalía, The Kid LAROI, and Charli XCX, to name a few.

Don't sleep on Sunday -- because Frank Ocean will finally be gracing the desert stage. For those unaware, he was set as a headliner for the 2020 concert before the whole thing got scrapped.

Other than Frank, Sunday's packed with artists like Björk, Dominic Fike, Latto, Rae Sremmurd, and lots more.

Fake lineups have circulated online, including one that said Justin Bieber would headline. Sources say Bieber was asked, but he turned it down in order to focus on his album. However, we're told there's a good chance he does it in 2024!

Remember, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd all headlined in 2022 ... and they surely didn't disappoint.

Despite putting on a great show more recently ... honchos working behind the scenes of the 2-weekend long festival have seen some hiccups over the last few years.

You'll recall, there was a bit of drama over who would fill the spot ... after Kanye West dropped out of the show a week before the festival began. He had plans to bring out Travis Scott, but of course, that didn't happen once Ye pulled the plug.

Coachella made its comeback that year ... after canceling the festivals in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID.

Well, this year the show will go on ... and it seems like it will be a hell of a time!

Cardi B and Offset are taking the Super Bowl by storm with some lovey dovey burgers and fries, because they've teamed up with the golden arches for a major ad ... and it's all about love.

Sources tell TMZ the couple shot a commercial for McDonald's right around Christmas time ... which was filmed with a small crew -- even though we're told the scale of the ad is going to be huge, and it's expected to make a splash on game day.

Cardi and Offset shot it solo -- so, no kids in this -- and our sources tell us it's Valentine's Day themed. Unclear what exactly is going to be depicted, but we imagine it'll be lovey-dovey ... which CB and Offset already are on their own.

Obviously, this is going to air on Feb. 12 -- the day of SB LVII -- just a couple days before V-Day.

As for why these two decided to shoot during the Christmas holiday ... we're told everyone felt it'd be the best day to get some work done, seeing how everyone (celebs included) usually take it easy. It also gave them a good window to get some work done without distractions.

This is Cardi's second go-around when it comes to Super Bowl ads -- she famously did one for Pepsi a few years ago ... and now, she's been tapped by another giant corporation.

Christine McVie's life and legacy brought Fleetwood Mac together again to celebrate her memory.

McVie's service was held Monday night at Little Beach House Malibu -- and it was all about celebrating the life and career of the famed singer/songwriter and keyboardist.

Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and Stevie Nicks, who called Christine her "best friend in the whole world" were spotted outside the event as they paid their respects and shared some of their favorite memories of McVie.

As we reported ... Christine died in November at 79 after a brief illness.

When she died, the group put a statement out saying, "There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed."

Meghan Markle's looking real Yoko Ono-ish lately ... at least that's the harsh -- and kinda hilarious -- comparison France's former First Lady Carla Bruni is making.

Carla posted posting a photoshopped pic from Prince Harry and Meghan's engagement photo shoot ... but replaced the Duchess of Sussex with Yoko. Her caption is the real punchline ... lyrics from The Beatles' 1967 hit, "All You Need Is Love."

For those unaware, Carla's comparing Meghan's involvement in Harry's life to Yoko's relationship with John Lennon, which has widely been portrayed as the reason The Beatles broke up. So, yeah ... major shade!

Carla, who's married to former French Prez Nicolas Sarkozy, has her followers pretty split on the meme -- some found it hilarious, while others aren't singin' the same tune. One person even called out Carla, saying "Girlfriend have you looked in the mirror?"

As you know, it's been a tumultuous ride for Harry and Meghan as of late, and it seems more drama is coming to the surface with Harry's new memoir, "Spare" ... including his sharing of text messages between Meghan and Kate Middleton.

Dr. Dre just went in hard on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, threatening her with legal action for exploiting his music "to promote your divisive and hateful political agenda."

Dre's lawyer, Howard King, fired off a letter to Greene, saying "Mr. Young [Dre] has not, and will never, grant you permission to broadcast or disseminate any of his music."

As we reported, Greene posted a video of her walking to the House floor Monday, using Dre's song, "Still D.R.E." as the music bed.

King fired off a demand letter to Twitter, asking the company to block her post. For its part, Twitter not only blocked the post ... it also locked her Twitter account.

But King wasn't done. Dre's lawyer went after her in a blistering way, saying "you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country. It's possible, though, that laws governing intellectual property are a little too arcane and insufficiently populist for you to really have spent much time on."

Dre and King were not done ... "We're writing because we think an actual lawmaker should be making laws not breaking laws, especially those embodied in the constitution by the founding fathers."

And then the ultimatum ... King demanded that Green cease and desist from using any of Dre's music, and he set a time deadline ... "please provide me with written confirmation that you have complied with these demands before January 11, 2023 by 5:00 pm EST."

Before the letter was sent, Greene told TMZ, "While I appreciate the creative chord progression, I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs."

We will follow up on this ... promise!

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene used a Dr. Dre song to tout her political prowess -- but she didn't have the green light for it ... according to Dre himself.

The Georgia lawmaker posted a highly-produced clip to her social feeds showing her strutting her stuff through the halls of Congress, apparently flexing the fact that she helped get Rep. Kevin McCarthy elected as House Speaker ... after an excruciating process.

In the video, you see her walking around and feeling herself -- even taking a call from "DT" at one point -- and all throughout ... DD's "Still D.R.E." beat is playing in the background.

The fact she even knows the song took some by surprise, let alone her feeling free to drop it into her GOP-fueled vid. You can count Dr. Dre as one of those shocked to hear his work being used by MTG ... because he tells TMZ he never gave the okay for this to happen.

The mega-producer tells us ... "I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one." So, yeah ... he ain't a fan of her collab here in the slightest.

No word on whether he plans to do anything about it, or if he's just gonna let it be. Fact is ... Republican politicians have long used popular songs for their political purposes for years now, starting with the head honcho himself -- Donald Trump -- who does it often at rallies.

Countless artists have told us they don't condone it, and some have even demanded he stop -- but Trump has continued on anyway ... often without any real repercussions of note.

We'll see if Rep. Greene follows his lead and does the same with Dre.

Kanye West is back to his regularly scheduled program -- getting out and about again, and with a new mystery woman by his side during his first time in public in several weeks.

Ye appeared to be all smiles Sunday afternoon as he drove around his Maybach in Bev Hills. In what's become his typical single guy move ... he had a new female companion riding shotgun for their Sunday Funday.

Unclear who the woman is, but they were basically hand in hand as they walked into the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Ye's been off the map for several weeks now -- rumors started spreading he was missing when his ex-business manager Thomas St. John said Ye was nowhere to be found.

As we reported, Ye made himself persona non grata just about everywhere after he unleashed a slew of antisemitic remarks and bizarre comments ... all of which ultimately cost him a ton of business deals, and his billionaire status.

At one point, he was traveling the country with white nationalist Nick Fuentes by his side, and the duo went to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Donald Trump, stirring a war of words with the former president.

Travis Scott seems to be moving solo now ... seen for the first time since word got out that he might be on the outs again with Kylie Jenner, and he's not looking too happy.

The rapper had his head down as he stepped off his private jet Sunday afternoon in L.A. ... shortly after reports came out he and Kylie might've broken things off. He clearly had a somber look on his face ... possibly breakup-related, possibly just regular fatigue.

If the split is real, it sure looks like Trav engaged in some retail therapy -- he had a ton of expensive bags as he got off the PJ ... including a Birkin bag worth about $50K and an extremely rare vintage Takashi Murakami Louis Vuitton trunk, which is said to resell for nearly $100K.

You'll recall, Kylie and Travis were first linked together during Coachella in April of 2017, and they welcomed baby Stormi the following February.

They briefly called things off in 2019, but rekindled their romance ... and their baby boy (the one with the mystery name) was born in February 2022.

Young Thug's RICO trial is about to get started -- during which prosecutors will present evidence backing their case, and, controversially, that will include some of his lyrics.

Opening arguments are scheduled to kick off Monday in Fulton County, where YT is facing serious charges ... including conspiracy, participating in criminal street gang activity, possession of a firearm and controlled substances charges, among others.

He's pleaded not guilty -- with his defense attorney insisting his name will be cleared through the proceedings.

Thug is just one of several individuals who've been charged in the sweeping case -- but he's a key defendant, as the feds allege he's one of the head honchos of YSL (Young Slime Life) ... which they claim is not only a music label/brand, but a violent criminal enterprise too.

The allegations against Thug and the other 27 co-defendants date back to 2015, and some defendants -- not Thug -- are facing murder, attempted murder and armed robbery charges. Even more alarming is the fact prosecutors are expected to cite specific lyrics YSL members have rapped to help build the case against them.

It's caused a lot of outrage, with some arguing rap lyrics shouldn't be allowed as evidence in the case ... claiming they often blur the lines between artistic expression and reality.

It's unclear which lyrics, exactly, are going to be mentioned ... but some of the songs prosecutors are looking at have been revealed. They include Young Thug's 2018 hit, "Anybody," plus tracks from YSL's 2020 compilation album like ... "Take it to Trial," "Ski" and "Slatty."

Prosecutors allege YSL members, including Thug, explicitly refer to criminal activity in those tracks -- and that they furthered the objective of the group ... namely, "Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise."

While Thug is about to have his day in court ... one of his cohorts and fellow labelmates, Gunna, already accepted a plea deal that saw him released from custody. He was sentenced to 5 years with one year credit for time served. The remaining 4 years were suspended, so no more time behind bars if he stays out of trouble.

Nick Carter is putting his feelings about his late brother Aaron Carter on wax -- as they used to say -- writing and recording a song where he sings about their rollercoaster relationship.

Music industry sources tell TMZ ... Nick got to work on the song shortly after Aaron died in November and as you'd expect -- considering the brothers' history -- it's a very emotional track.

Despite their complicated relationship, we're told the song expresses Nick's unconditional love for Aaron and his heartbreak over his brother seemingly never finding peace in his life.

Nick's been teasing a new project on social media, and we're told he also filmed a music video for the song ... which includes never before seen footage of Nick and Aaron together from when they were younger.

Remember, the Carter bros had tons of ups and downs over the years ... with one of their lowest points coming in 2019 when Nick got a restraining order after claiming his younger brother threatened to kill Nick's pregnant wife and unborn child.

TMZ broke the story ... Aaron was found dead in his home in November.