Music

Cher and Alexander "AE" Edwards have called it quits on their relationship, and were never even engaged, despite multiple reports to the contrary ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ they ended things a couple weeks ago, though it's currently unclear what led to the relationship's collapse or who first decided to end it.

What's more shocking, our sources say the two were never even engaged to be married, despite a massive diamond ring she was gifted around Christmas. We're told the two just decided to play into the speculation it was an engagement ring.

It was back in January when 76-year-old Cher told paps she and 37-year-old AE were engaged, but now we know they were just having some fun.

Remember ... Cher and AE were first linked back in November when they were photographed holding hands during a night out in West Hollywood.

AE even told us last month he was getting super close with Cher's sons, Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.

Big celebs and hot couples, like Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, are in NYC for the Met Gala ... and that means the city's luxury hotels look like fashion runways leading up to the big event.

Kendall and BB are just a couple of the A-listers in the Big Apple Monday ... and, interestingly, the lovebirds are crashing at separate hotels. Seems like someone, or both of 'em, don't want to share the spotlight.

Doja Cat pulled up to her hotel looking super casual and couldn't resist playing some Animal Crossing, which is why she brought her Nintendo Switch!

Priyanka Chopra was bearing some midriff before getting all done up for the glitz and glamor of the Met's iconic arrival ceremony.

As we reported, there are several other interesting guests tonight -- Gisele Bundchen's showing up solo for her first MG appearance post-Tom Brady, Ice Spice is a special guest of Vogue, and Lizzo's making her return ... despite dragging last year's event!

FYI -- celebs on the west coast brought their own Met Gala vibes to a Bev Hills dinner party Sunday night, which drew the likes of Austin Butler, Katy Perry, and Oprah.

N.O.R.E. and Cam’ron are currently at odds over comments the "Drinks Champs" star made on Joe Budden's podcast ... that seemingly took aim at Killa Cam's new sports talk show.

Budden has repeatedly expressed his joy in seeing fellow rappers from his generation fail at the media crossover ... a sentiment he got N.O.R.E. to cosign back in February during his 'JBP' appearance.

Cam may be a few months late, but he felt both guys were dissing his series, "It Was It Is," and lashed out at 'em with some Harlem heat -- accusing N.O.R.E. of being two-faced while calling Budden all types of crackheads.

Budden didn't take Cam's disses lightly, and warned the Dipset rapper he was seconds away from getting a full-court press smear campaign ... but didn't respond when asked to meet in person.

N.O.R.E., for his part, couldn't understand why Cam would take the conflict to social media and reminded him they go way back with several vintage video clips.

Cam and N.O.R.E. appeared on one another's debut albums in 1998 ... with the classic posse cut "Banned From T.V." notably birthed from one of their studio sessions.

This "beef" would serve fans' wildest dreams on wax, but neither guy raps anymore ... so social sneak disses it is!!!

Chance the Rapper is thankful he cleaned up his act following his 2013 breakout project, "Acid Rap" -- he swears his drug-binging days while making that music would've eventually killed him.

The Chicago rap star made the sobering admission while basking in the LP's 10-year anniversary with Complex.

According to Chance, he earned enough money from his first headlining tour to rent a house outside of his parents' supervision ... and went buck wild with the drugs.

Chance thanks a spiritual intervention for pulling him out of the substance abuse splurge and noted how his legacy would have just been limited to an acid user had he succumbed.

His story sounds eerily similar to that of Mac Miller, who died in 2018 following a drug overdose in the Los Angeles house where he'd been holed up.

The sounds of "Acid Rap" are set to have their biggest stage yet, come August 19 at Chicago's United Center for its 10th-anniversary concert.

The show is coheadlined by "Acid Rap" collaborator Saba ... which opens the door for other hometown featured artists Vic Mensa, BJ The Chicago Kid and Twista to make appearances all the same.

Here's Katy Perry, Austin Butler and Sia making fashion statements worthy of a Met Gala appearance ... only they're not in New York, they're at a Bev Hills mansion party.

The guest list for a Sunday dinner party at investor Michael Kives' $14 million Bev Hills estate rivaled Anna Wintour's annual fundraiser ... with Katy, Austin and Sia being just the tip of the Hollywood icon iceberg. The party was to celebrate the start of Milken Conference, which is a big deal in the finance world.

Oprah and a very colorfully-dressed Gayle King were in the house ... breaking bread with Kris Jenner, Jimmy Kimmel and Chris Pine.

Austin had supermodel Kaia Gerber on his arm, and they were a bunch of other celeb couples ... we're talking Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Heather Milligan, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, plus Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld.

Michael's party, celebrating his investment firm, also welcomed L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez ... plus Bill Maher, Nicholas Braun and Matt Bellamy.

Most of the celebs walked out with what appeared to be SKIMS gift bags ... which makes sense, because Kris Jenner helped host the party.

Ryan Reynolds has some competition in his quest to buy the Ottawa Senators ... and it's none other than rap legend Snoop Dogg!!

According to the Athletic, the Dogg Father has joined the group headed by Neko Sparks in hopes of becoming the next big celebrity sports team owner.

Sparks, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, first became known as a bidder for the team back in January 2023. Since then, he has rounded up a dozen people to join his efforts to not only buy the team ... but make history as the first black owner in the NHL. The group also reportedly has Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a member.

In case you didn't know, Snoop is a massive fan of hockey. In 2018, he teamed up with the NHL to release a weekly video series called "Hockey 101 with Snoop Dogg."

On top of that ... in 2020, he called a whole period of NHL action for the L.A. Kings during the team’s matchup with the Colorado Avalanche. If you want to dig even further, in his famous "Gin and Juice” music video ... Snoop is rocking a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey.

While adding Dogg to his ownership group certainly bolsters its cause, it will still be a battle for Sparks' group to win the Senators. Reynolds and real estate mogul Christopher Bratty are rumored to be preparing a $1 billion dollar bid to buy the team. They would also build a new stadium for the org., although it's unknown if Sparks and his group would do the same.

Reynolds is no stranger to owning a team. Back in November 2020 ... Reynolds and actor Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham FC for $2.5 million dollars. Back on April 22nd, the team earned promotion to the English Football League after falling out 15 years ago.

Ice Spice will be fully "in ha mood" at this year's Met Gala ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned she got a special invite from the one and only Anna Wintour!!!

Sources involved in the Met's production inform us Ice was invited by Anna as a guest of Vogue, and will be strutting her stuff in a custom Balmain piece.

The "Gangsta Boo" rapper will also be partnering with Vogue and eBay for a special behind-the-scenes look into her journey to the Met ... which caps a hip hop megastar career-in-the-making in just a few months!!!

Ice's newest "Princess Diana" duet with Nicki Minaj recently shot to the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100, which follows the platinum plaque she earned from her "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" collab with PinkPantheress.

Francia Raisa is tossing serious shade toward her former friend, and kidney recipient, Selena Gomez ... dodging questions any way she can about whether they're still on good terms.

The "How I Met Your Father" star was taking her dogs for a walk Sunday in Studio City when she was asked about her relationship souring with Selena -- but she repeatedly, and not-so-subtly, changed the subject.

It was a nonstop dodge fest ... Francia refused to even touch on whether she'd be willing to follow back SG on social media. She was also asked if she'd be up for organ donation again -- but it sounds like she's more into talking others through the process.

For those unaware, Selena and Francia were longtime friends ... first meeting back when they were child actors, and getting so close Francia agreed to donate her kidney in 2017 when Selena's failed due to her battle with lupus.

They were thick as thieves after that, with Selena constantly thanking Francia for saving her life. That all seemed to change in November, however ... when Selena told an interviewer the only person she was close to in Hollywood was Taylor Swift.

Those words went viral, with Francia commenting "interesting," and unfollowing Selena ... who later defended herself, saying, "Sorry I didn't mention every person I know."

Selena seemed to turn around in March, saying she'll "never ever, ever, be more in debt to a person than Francia" ... but it doesn't sound like Francia's on the same page.

Daz Dillinger is fully denying Suge Knight's allegation Dr. Dre cheated Tha Dogg Pound producer straight outta his rightful credit for Snoop's "Doggystyle" -- and, it's a very aggressive denial, at that!

Daz posted a video calling Dre the "best producer in the world," and suggested Suge was still salty over Snoop's purchase of his once beloved Death Row Records.

Suge recently spoke to TMZ Hip Hop and claimed Dre approached Daz right before "Doggystyle" was released, and convinced him to sign over his writing/producing rights ... so, the album would be better promoted with Dre's celebrity attached.

Daz says he never signed any contract and also accused veteran music industry exec Alan Grunblatt of shady business. Alan was president of eOne Entertainment when the company acquired Death Row ahead of Snoop's buy-in and Daz claims they were all fumbling the bag.

Tha Dogg Pound legend swore on "the streets" Suge was lying and also called for him to get beat up ... presumably by a fellow inmate in the CA state prison where he's serving out a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter.

Stagecoach, one of the biggest country music festivals around, has come to a close, and it wasn't just your average Joe's in the crowd ... celebs took it all in, too!!!

Jasmine Goode, Amanda Stanton, and Nick Viall are just a few of the familiar faces gettin' down to the likes of Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, ZZ Top, and Kane Brown in Indio this weekend, living it up on the same festival grounds where Coachella wrapped just 1 week before.

Sophia and Aurora Culpo were all smiles out in the desert, putting some yin-yang balance to their matching cowgirl fits!

Scheana Shay and Brock Davies were having a great time, too -- posin' for the camera as the festival went on late into the night.

A woman got so turned on by a performance from the Los Angeles Philharmonic that she had a "loud and full body orgasm" right there in her seat ... at least according to a new report.

The L.A. Times reported what went down during Friday's X-rated show! The concertgoer was watching the Philharmonic crank out Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, when she apparently became sexually aroused.

One witness seated near the woman told The Times ..."I saw the girl after it had happened, and I assume that she ... had an orgasm because she was heavily breathing, and her partner was smiling and looking at her — like in an effort to not shame her. It was quite beautiful.”

Another attendee tweeted the woman was having a “loud and full body orgasm" to the sounds of the music, and the band carried on.

A third person said the woman's apparent moment of pleasure was “wonderfully timed” to a “romantic swell” in the melodies. He added, “One can’t know exactly what happened, but it seemed very clear from the sound that it was an expression of pure physical joy."

More evidence of the climactic moment surfaced online in an audio clip. You hear someone in the throes of a loud orgasm as the symphony plays the 5th's second movement.

But, one concertgoer poured cold water on the orgasm theory. The witness took to Twitter, claiming that the woman had a "breakdown of some sort" and everyone in the packed crowd was "worried it was a medical emergency."

The Times was unable to ID or locate the woman in question to get her side of the story and the L.A. Philharmonic has yet to comment on the incident.

Ralph Yarl, the teen who was shot when he accidentally rang the wrong doorbell, now has a personal invite from Alicia Keys ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... Alicia has a concert scheduled in Kansas this July, and Lee Merritt, attorney for the Yarl family, tells us the singer asked Ralph to come out to the show and meet her.

As if that wasn't big enough, we're told Roc Nation also reached out to him ... letting Ralph and co. know the company wants to help out too, in any way possible.

Ralph's fam has been feeling the love from folks all over the country, and they've set up a trust fund for all the donations. We're told writer and social justice advocate Shaun King helped the Yarl family find someone to map out the financial assistance.

As we reported, Ralph's GoFundMe picked up serious steam -- it's already passed $3.4 million raised -- and while there's no set plan for the money yet, the trust ensures it will be there for Ralph when he needs it.

BTW, Ralph's mom Cleo also got emotional support from Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones ... who's also repped by Merritt. We're told she encouraged Cleo to lean on prayer, and reminded her victims, like her son, hold the power.

Meanwhile, 84-year-old Andrew Lester -- who shot Ralph 2 times -- was charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action.

Lizzo looked as happy as ever pullin' up to Anna Wintour's pre-Met Gala dinner, but it's an awkward situation, considering Lizzo had some harsh words about last year's event.

The singer was all smiles Sunday night in NYC, walking into Wintour's private pad ... for dinner with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Penelope Cruz and many other A-listers.

While she looked thrilled, she might have been gearing up to face the music. ICYMI, Lizzo went on Instagram Live and totally trashed 2022's Met Gala last May ... complaining about everything from the booze to the photogs snapping pics.

She filled her fans in on how unglamorous fashion's biggest night really is, at least to her ... first complaining about the "long f***ing line" she had to wait in. She added there was no place to sit, either -- saying "B***h? Can we get some chairs or some drinks or some hors d'oeuvres?"

It didn't stop there, though ... once she finally got in, a waiter told her they only had red or white wine, which sent her through the roof while looking for some tequila. BTW, she was supposed to rock a flute solo during her red carpet debut but claims she only did part of it -- adding the paps were heckling her.

The Met Gala's going down Monday night, and since she went to Anna's party ... ya gotta imagine she's also going to the Met.

So, the world's dyin' to know -- will Lizzo get served some tequila, or will she bring her own?!

Aerosmith doesn't wanna miss a thing -- including an opportunity to tour as a unit while they still can ... which is exactly why they're hitting the road one last time.

The band announced its farewell tour Monday, titled 'Peace Out' -- a 40-date slate that kicks off on Sep. 2 in Philly and runs through the end of January to finish in Montreal ... with a lot of stops in between, including their hometown of Boston.

The reason they're saying goodbye forever is two-pronged -- they wanna celebrate their 50-plus years together ... but, more importantly, they want to capitalize on their ability to jam together ... which Aerosmith candidly admits won't last forever, especially as they get older.

Joe Perry made a telling point ... "You never know how much longer everybody’s going to be healthy to do this," adding, "It’s been a while since we’ve actually done a real tour. We did that run in Vegas, which was great. It was fun, but (we’re) kind of anxious to get back on the road." Of course, he's referencing their recent Vegas residency.

The five founding members, who've all been there pretty much since the beginning, are all over the age of 70 ... with frontman Steven Tyler being the oldest at 75.

While everybody's still kicking/rocking -- as evidenced in their recent stint in Sin City -- Perry might have a point about getting in one last shot at what very well may be their last window to perform in tip-top shape. The Aerosmith guys have endured their fair share of health scares over the years, especially of late -- ST's bout of a mystery illness comes to mind.

A farewell tour for Aerosmith has been getting teased for years now, but it sounds like this could actually be the final time you can catch them live. It's unclear if they're going full international -- or if they're just sticking to North America.

Paul Stanley says we're confusing our kids by teaching them about gender identity and sexuality at too young of an age -- which he thinks is dangerous, and not to be trifled with.

The KISS rocker took to Twitter Sunday with an unprompted statement about this topic -- a culture war hot-button issue that has largely consumed the country and seems to only be getting more contentious by the day.

He writes, "There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game and then parents in some cases allow it."

PS adds, "There ARE individuals who as adults may decide reassignment is their needed choice but turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister’s clothes or a girl in her brother’s, we should lead them steps further down a path that’s far from the innocence of what they are doing."

Lastly, "With many children who have no real sense of sexuality or sexual experiences caught up in the ‘fun’ of using pronouns and saying what they identify as, some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad."

Kelsea Ballerini's CMT Music Awards performance with drag queens had social media, and some country music fans, up in arms -- but, turns out, it was barely a blip on the FCC's radar.

You'll recall, the country singer had 4 queens from "RuPaul's Drag Race" share the stage with her at this year's awards ceremony -- and she was facing a lot of online backlash for involving them in her number.

However, TMZ has obtained the complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission regarding Kelsea's moment ... and there were only two. For comparison, the FCC received 103 complaints about Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show.

One came from Texas, complaining about "drag queens on a family show." The other came from Alaska, saying children shouldn't be exposed to drag, adding ... "We are no longer able to watch this station. We have children in our home that have no business being exposed to this filth."

As we reported, sources told us Kelsea stood by her performance despite all the flak she caught for it. We're told the appearances were fully planned, and it was Kelsea's idea to call in the drag backup.