Music

The lawyer for the family of the 10-year-old boy who died at Travis Scott's Astroworld concert is blasting the rapper's team for accusing cops of trying to sabotage his new album with the release of their investigation.

Bob Hilliard, the lawyer representing the family of the late Ezra Blount, tells TMZ ... "For an artist making his living with music, these are stunningly tone-deaf comments about this preventable tragedy that took so many lives and injured so many."

Ezra was trampled to death at the concert and his family's lawyer is not taking kindly to the spin coming from Travis' camp.

As we first reported, one of Travis' attorneys said the release of the Houston Police Department's 1,266-page investigation was intentionally timed to hurt "Utopia" ... a stance one of Travis' reps later doubled down on.

The Blount family's attorney feels quite the opposite, telling us ... "Of course they would only focus on how the report's release date hurts their album sales instead of the facts contained inside of the report."

One of the notes tucked inside the report catching the attention of the Blounts' attorney are text messages from a contract worker, warning an event organizer that, "Someone's going to end up dead," after seeing people get crushed in the crowd.

While Travis was not charged with a crime, Ezra's family is among those who are suing the Houston rapper ... and their attorney says the police investigation is "damning" and shows Travis is among those at fault for their child's death.

Hilliard adds ... "For Mr. Scott to allow his lawyers and spokespeople to make the reckless and untrue statement that just because he was not indicted means he's blame-free is arrogant and insulting to the memory of 10-year-old Ezra as well as the other victims of this terrible night."

Offset is fessing up that his part in the recent public spat with Cardi B might have been the result of too much booze ... and he wants fans to know he's a member of the "happy wife, happy life" club.

If you remember, Offset insinuated Cardi cheated on him -- with someone famous at that -- but walked back those comments Monday as he discussed the public blow-up with Angela Yee.

Offset blamed Cardi's NYC upbringing for sparking his anger with her "pitbull mouth," but admits he was inebriated on tequila, and alluded to lying in the heat of the moment.

He claims deleting the social media post signified he wasn't telling the truth.

Cardi also denied Offset's claims in a fiery response, and the two eventually reconciled, most recently, dropping their latest duet ... a track aptly titled "Jealously."

Offset explained he and Cardi are still husband and wife even when the cameras aren't rolling, and social media trolls do have an effect on their marriage whether he likes it or not.

He says had Cardi actually cheated, not only would he be unable to overcome the betrayal ... he'd go after her side dude!!!

As for his own cheating, Offset blamed immaturity, and lean, for that bad decision in the past.

Singer Tori Kelly is on the road to recovery after being hospitalized with serious blood clots around her vital organs ... TMZ has learned she's now back at home.

Sources close to the Grammy-winning singer tell us, Tori was discharged Monday from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. and she's going home to rest.

We're told doctors still don't know what caused the blood clots in Tori's legs and lungs ... but, for now, she's feeling better.

Our sources say Tori will continue to be monitored with regular checkups, but leaving the hospital and the intensive care unit is a big step.

TMZ broke the story ... Tori was rushed to Cedars -- one of the country's premier hospitals -- last Sunday night after passing out while at dinner with friends in downtown L.A., and she was in and out of consciousness while in the hospital.

Tori previously wrote a letter to her fans while she was hospitalized, saying she was initially scared and heartbroken, but was getting better and feeling a lot stronger and hopeful.

Ludacris believes the children are our future, and he's doing his part to help them lead the way ... by making a huge donation toward the renovation of a children's theater.

Back in July, Luda performed at the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati and pledged $50,000 to the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati to help support its $48 million restoration campaign for the Emery Theater building.

Luda's lawyer, Darrell D. Miller, has ties to both the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and Emery Theater as a board member -- so, the "Fast & The Furious" star showed excellent southern hospitality by joining his cause.

Ludacris told Cincy's Local 12, "I'm drawn to the Children's Theatre's project in Cincinnati because of the plans to develop new works that hit on the topics that matter to kids today.”

He added, “The Emery project signals an incredible opportunity for more children to access the arts and see themselves in what happens on stage. As a father of four daughters and a philanthropist who's constantly investing in the next generation, I'm honored to be a part of this."

The theater is currently sitting at $30M of its $48M goal.

Music philanthropy definitely pulls at Luda's heartstrings.

Selena Gomez is posting thirst traps by sea, and her organ donor, and former BFF, is doing the same by land ... with some super sexy bikini action on a beach volleyball court!!!

Francia Raisa continued her birthday celebrations Sunday in Malibu, showing off her curves -- and her scars from the kidney she donated to Selena -- as she played volleyball with friends.

It was another scorching hot summer weekend in the 'Bu, and Francia made it hotter ... leaving little to the imagination in a skimpy swimsuit that matched her sunglasses and hair.

Francia showed off her athleticism ... serving some aces and bouncing around in the sand.

The beach day capped off Francia's birthday week, which included an olive branch of sorts from Selena, who wished her well with a social media post after their recent falling out.

As we reported ... in the wake of Selena's birthday message, Francia followed her back on social media and told paparazzi there's no more beef between them.

Now that Francia's following Selena on Instagram, she's probably seen Selena's weekend thirst traps she posted from a boat ride.

The woman who reported the incident to cops was standing next to the drink thrower -- but she claims the mic hit her too. Some video angles seem to show the mic hitting her after it ricocheted off the other fan.

Cardi B might not get away scot-free with that microphone toss in Las Vegas -- she's now listed as the suspect in a battery ... TMZ has learned.

The woman who was struck by Cardi's mic when she hurled it into the crowd at Drai's Nightclub on Saturday ... went to Las Vegas Metro PD the next day to report the incident.

She told police she'd been struck by an item -- the microphone -- thrown from the stage. Of course, the whole incident was captured on cameras during Cardi's show.

As we reported, a woman in the crowd threw some kinda liquid at Cardi while she was performing ... and the rapper snapped, immediately throwing the mic in retaliation.

The mic struck the drink thrower, but ricocheted and also hit another woman standing next to her ... as seen in the footage.

Prior to the altercation, Cardi and her DJ had implored the crowd to splash water on her to cool her off in the triple-digit weather -- but obviously, she didn't take kindly to whatever the woman threw later in the show.

We've reached out to Cardi's camp, but no word back yet.

Story developing ...

There's evidence Cardi B should've anticipated a fan tossing liquid on her in Las Vegas ... because she actually asked the crowd to douse her with water and cool her off!!!

Additional scenes from inside Cardi's Drai's Beachclub performance from her Saturday show demanding the crowd to throw water on her in between songs because she was "dying" from the triple-digit desert temps -- it got up to 105° that day, so hydration was a must.

Cardi's DJ also encouraged the crowd to hose her down and she didn't care where they soaked her -- she even bent over, and directed fans toward her, umm ... WAP!!!

Now, Cardi was very clearly asking for H2O only to be thrown at her. It's hard to tell what was in the cup that was thrown when she went completely ballistic, but the operating theory is it was booze, and not just water. BTW, the fan has been extremely apologetic since the whole thing went down.

That said, one fan is claiming Cardi clocked her with the mic, despite not being the one who threw the drink ... which could prove to be a slippery situation down the line.

Beyoncé and Erykah Badu are both blazing across the country this summer on tours … but one R&B star seems to think the other is watching her wardrobe too closely, and jocking her style!!!

On Monday, Erykah fired shots directly from Mama's gun ... showing Beyoncé onstage during her "Renaissance" tour, and followed up with another of herself in order to highlight how similar their fits were -- especially the high-top wicked witch-style hats.

EB peppered the post with a touch of shade in the caption, "I guess I'm everybody stylist" ... making it clear she thinks Beyoncé's stolen her look.

Both iconic artists have been rocking hats throughout large periods of their careers and haven't drawn many comparisons, with Bey dominating the music industry's pop pyramids with the most Grammys ever ... and Erykah widely being considered a pioneer of modern R&B.

Many fans feel EB's comments were giving petty, and think she has a bit more explaining to do before she can wage a legitimate beef with the Beyhive!!!

Now we know why Kyle Richards has been in Aspen at the same time as her good friend country star Morgan Wade ... Kyle's spreading her wings and producing a documentary on Morgan's life.

Morgan performed Sunday night at Belly Up in Aspen ... and everyone in the audience signed releases allowing the footage shot to be used in a production.

We've learned the production puts the spotlight on Morgan's life ... the highs and lows -- from her rise to stardom to overcoming substance abuse. It also focuses on the 28-year-old cancer issues -- she has a gene that makes her at high risk for ovarian and breast cancer. She'll be getting a double mastectomy in November -- presumably the doc will chronicle that journey.

Kyle is not only the executive producer of the doc, she appears on camera as well. And, Kyle was actually shooting footage of the concert during Sunday's show.

54-year-old Kyle is venturing into new territory, producing and whatnot. Congrats!

Lady Gaga has finally broken her silence on the passing of Tony Bennett, with whom she was incredibly close ... and that's reflected in her moving tribute to the legend himself.

The singer posted a photo of herself and Tony, writing ... I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together. With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power."

Gaga goes on to say that she felt like she was in another era while performing with Tony -- and goes on to describe valuable life lessons he imparted to her in a variety of ways.

She also adds this ... "I've been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye. Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend. Our age difference didn’t matter -- in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were from two different stages in life entirely--inspired."

LG says TB's Alzheimer's disease was both a blessing and a curse in her view -- because it taught her about vulnerability, and the value of cherishing people you love in the present.

She finishes ... "If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change. Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence -- some of my musical partner and I’s most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all."

Britney Spears won't see her kids before they leave the mainland ... the boys are all set to move to Hawaii with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, without saying bye to their mother.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney and Kevin's two boys, Jayden James and Sean Preston, are moving to Hawaii Tuesday with K-Fed and his wife, Victoria.

Britney hasn't seen her kids in well over a year, and we're told that's not going to change before Kevin moves the boys out of California, where their mother lives.

TMZ broke the story ... Kevin was encouraging the boys to see Britney before they left, but he wasn't going to force them to sit down with their mom if they weren't up for it.

Our sources say Kevin's relieved Britney didn't fight the move in court, and he feels she did the right thing by allowing the boys to relocate to Hawaii.

Madonna is counting her lucky stars, thanking the people closest to her for pulling her through what appears to have been a critical illness that threatened her life.

The legendary pop star posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, reflecting on a severe bacterial infection that landed her in ICU. She posted photos of her with two of her six children: David and Lourdes. (Her 4 other kids are Rocco, Mercy, Estere and Stella.)

Madonna wrote, "Love from family and friends is the best Medicine" ... "As a Mother you can really get caught up In the needs Of your children and the seemingly endless giving."

She went on ... "But when the chips were down my children really showed up for me. I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference."

The singer also expressed gratitude for her manager, Guy Oseary, who gave her a touching gift after her medical emergency -- a Polaroid of Keith Haring sporting a jacket emblazoned with the face of Michael Jackson.

The picture, Madonna says, was snapped by Andy Warhol and it made her realize how "lucky I am to be alive" and "how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone."

Selena Gomez is surrounded by water, but it hasn't quenched her thirst, because she posted some smokin' hot pics on vacay!!!

S.G. was rocking a 2-piece on a boat with a couple of her close friends.

Selena's pink bathing suit came with a blend of rural -- as in overalls! It's a look. We're told she was in the Hamptons last week, and the pics were taken over the weekend so she may still be there.

As far as we know, she's still single. You'll recall she let a bunch of soccer players know her relationship status in a somewhat desperate/hysterical attempt to pull an athlete!

BTW, the "Only Murders in the Building" star turned 31 a little over a week ago. One thing marking the occasion ... her net worth was estimated to be around $800 mil ... not bad at any age.

Drake asked for bras, and now he has more than he can handle -- and the ones he's getting now are absolutely massive ... to the point that they're starting to concern him.

The rapper was performing in D.C. this weekend, where this ongoing tradition he's started continued -- in which women hurl their undergarments onstage at him ... something he said was lacking recently, only to receive a 36G bra from one notable young woman in NYC.

Welp, the Washington crowd kept the momentum going Sunday ... only this time, a couple ladies one-upped the 21-year-old from last week with even larger cup sizes. Like, way bigger!

As you can see, Drake was utterly flabbergasted by the L- and H-cup bras ... hilariously so.

He went down the alphabet with the audience to see what could possibly come next in terms of size ... and then tried finding the big-boobed woman in the crowd, to no avail it seems.

Then, Drizzy floated a would-be benefit to all the ladies who are packing up top ... free tickets. Something tells us he was joking though, 'cause that could get expensive real quick.

Like we told you, the woman who started this whole trend snagged a Playboy deal out of it -- but it feels like that gravy train might be over now, because there are clearly other women with even more sizeable assets ... and they're apparently trying to get the plug as well.

Cardi B's microphone throw during a live performance has spurred a lot of debate on the internet -- but one is taking shape that's invoking an infamous musical duo ... Milli Vanilli.

A lot of folks noticed that after Cardi stopped the show Saturday to retaliate against a woman who threw a drink on her from the crowd ... the music/song she was rapping to, 'Bodak Yellow,' kept going, and many have assumed that Cardi was just lip syncing.

It was quite noticeable ... but, obviously, more people focused on what was going down between Cardi and the lady -- who appears to have been hit with Cardi's mic (good aim).

Now, in the aftermath, the jokes are flying at Cardi's expense ... 'cause some trolls are (falsely) equating her to Milli's Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan -- who were notoriously caught lip syncing back in 1990 during a live performance ... when their record skipped mid-show.

Not only were the Milli Vanilli dudes exposed as in a lip sync sense -- but it was later revealed that they weren't the ones singing in the first place. Indeed, very scandalous.

In the wake of CB's dustup ... some are throwing her into the same category, but it's apples to oranges for a whole bunch of reasons -- which many on Twitter are rightly pointing out.

For starters, it's common these days for artists to use backing tracks for their performances. In fact, it's SOP when it comes to modern-day shows ... especially rappers. All the big acts do this, and they simply chime in on top of it live -- often deviating for added entertainment value. In Cardi's case, there's no evidence she wasn't rapping *with* the backing track.

And just for the sake of argument, even if she was lip syncing here ... it's NBD, really.

Harry Styles is sailing off into the sunset after wrapping his nearly 2-year-long tour -- but it seems he can't quite shake everything that came with it ... like, perhaps, Olivia Wilde.

The singer is still out in Italy, enjoying a little R&R after completing his final show in Reggio Emilia. On Friday, he went on a little boat trip on a lake in Bolsena -- where he and some pals (James Corden included) were soaking up the sun. And, yes ... HS went shirtless.

Besides the fact that he's got a ripped bod, he's also got a ton of tattoos all over his torso. More importantly, though, he has leg tats as well -- one in particular here stands out.

Peep ... it's ink on his thigh, of all places, and it clearly reads "Olivia." There's another word right underneath that, but it's harder to make out what that one is, or what the connection is. Of course, for the Olivia tat ... folks are obviously assuming it's related to his recent ex.

There's another possible explanation ... in 2015, One Direction put out a song called 'Olivia,' so this could be related to that. Considering we haven't seen this tat on him before, though -- many are speculating it's fairly recent. If it is ... well, that's certainly interesting.

As you know ... Harry and Olivia dated for the better part of a year or so, and they seemed head over heels for quite a long time. Of course, their relationship wasn't without drama.

Seeing how Harry dating Olivia caused a lot of strife (at least among his fans) ... ya gotta wonder if he'll have this removed at some point -- again, assuming it is in fact related to her.