Music

Cardi B is in the clear after throwing a microphone at a fan ... because the criminal battery investigation has been dropped.

Cardi's lawyers, Drew Findling, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell TMZ, "This afternoon we were notified by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept., that as a result of their investigation, there will be NO charges against Cardi. On behalf of Cardi, we appreciate the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept's diligent and prompt resolution of this matter."

As you know, Cardi was performing at Drai's Beachclub last Saturday when she asked the crowd to splash water on her to cool her down in the burning Vegas heat ... but when someone threw a cup with an unknown liquid and ice, she hurled the mic at the person. It ricocheted and hit another person, who filed a police report.

Cardi was then listed as a battery suspect but the case has gone nowhere. It was never ever referred to the D.A. The cops concluded Cardi did not commit a criminal offense.

We learned an audio production company that owns the mic decided to auction off the piece, with the money going to charities like the Wounded Warrior Project and Friendship Circle Las Vegas, which helps teens and young adults with special needs. FYI, the bids have hit $100,000.

L.A. ain't messing around with Taylor Swift in town ... cops are beefing up security for public transit, with an operation that'll be taken as seriously as football's biggest day.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday that LAPD is working with Metro to support the swarm of folks heading to and from Taylor's 6 shows at SoFi Stadium -- providing a ton of officers through the spread out Metro system.

The dept. says, "The Department is providing a similar level of visibility as the 2022 Superbowl in order to ensure the safety of the public throughout the Metro System."

In case ya forgot, tickets for her SoFi shows sold out instantly on Ticketmaster, so the only way to score tix at this point is by shelling out thousands for resale.

Swifties in L.A. have been going nuts over her arrival -- with fans already waiting for hours just to grab some merch!!!

Kim Kardashian is back to campaigning for Master P's brother's release from prison ... citing a new law in the state of Louisiana that could possibly land the incarcerated rapper a new trial.

Corey Miller, the former No Limit rapper, has been locked up in the Bayou State since 2002 where he's serving a life sentence for second-degree murder ... an alleged miscarriage of justice, according to Kim.

On Thursday, she dropped several statements on social media breaking down Louisiana's new law Section 926.2 ... which allows people to submit new factual evidence to prove their innocence.

Kim thinks Corey isn't being given his fair rights, as he's never been given an evidentiary hearing to explain his side, and several witnesses have since recanted statements.

"Louisiana recently enacted a new law that provides innocent people with the ability to raise a post-conviction claim of factual innocence. Mr. Miller has raised such a claim and, like all of his prior post-conviction filings, has been denied relief without even so much as an evidentiary hearing. In light of the fact that the only witnesses have completely recanted their testimony, there is absolutely no remaining evidence against Mr. Miller."

The 52-year-old, who rapped under the name C-Murder, has been getting public support from Master P, his family, his ex-GF Monica Brown, and Kim for years ... but the state hasn't shared their sentiments.

LL Cool J is sick of hearing how rap is both a "young man's game" and comparable to sports ... setting the record straight on how he feels hip hop culture should thrive.

The legendary rapper appeared on SiriusXM’s "Sway In The Morning" Thursday to promote his new tour, the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and he closed the interview with his first-ever freestyle on the celebrated radio show. ... supplying a dizzying array of rhymes.

LL rocked the mic for nearly two minutes, causing all Sway's Universe cohosts to go wild as Tracy G proclaimed LL shut down their freestyle segment for the rest of the year.

Earlier in the interview, LL expressed his disappointment with older rappers being rubbed out of the culture, much like he did when he took DJ Akademiks to task last year.

LL admits he's a fan of songs from the likes of Lil Baby, Lil Durk and DaBaby but says his reason for creating his "Rock The Bells" platform was so he didn't have to pretend like he's not older than he is.

The 55-year-old MC also laid into the rap debates that liken the genre to sports and says rappers only flirt with retirement like pro athletes over insecurities of becoming obsolete ... a position LL says he's allergic to!!!

Megan Thee Stallion's music release hiatus hasn't kept her from working ... the "Savage" rapper has gone straight Hollywood with her feature film debut.

Fans got a glimpse of what Megan will bring to the table when A24 popped the lid off its trailer for "Dicks: The Musical" comedy on Thursday ... which stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp as a pair of bumbling salesmen who soon discover they're long-lost twins.

Megan plays their business suit-wearing, potty-mouthed boss and makes use of her artistic talents ... even breaking off into a rap song at the point where she instructs the boys to munch on her male genitalia. 😬

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland could double as a K-pop idol ... 'cause the soccer superstar just got a personal dance lesson from Blackpink's Jisoo!!

The athlete and singer met up for a one-on-one interview during Man City's visit to Seoul as part of its preseason tour of Asia last month ... and at one point in the conversation, Jisoo gave Haaland a tutorial on how to do the viral dance to her solo song, "Flower," which has nearly 350 MILLION views on YouTube.

Of course, the "Flower Challenge" was a big thing on TikTok ... with a bunch of users trying out the dance craze.

While Haaland didn't do the whole dance, he was able to nail the hand movements from his seat ... even getting his own flower props to execute the routine.

Jisoo gave her stamp of approval on Haaland's attempt ... with the entire room clapping following his impromptu performance.

Haaland also came bearing gifts ... handing Jisoo a customized Man City jersey -- complete with No. 103, in honor of her birthday (January 3).

But don't start shipping Haaland and Jisoo -- the singer is currently dating Korean actor Ahn Bo Hyun, their reps confirmed Thursday -- and Erling is dating Isabel Johansen.

One of the women suing Lizzo claiming she was done dirty by the singer actually sang her praises, AFTER the alleged incidents she says terrorized her.

TMZ has obtained a video shot in April 2023, in which plaintiff Arianna Davis gushes over Lizzo, saying, "It's been so amazing and such a beautiful journey. I look up to her so much. I just want to follow in her footsteps, and I just want to share that with the Queen Lizzo herself."

Lizzo's lawyer, Marty Singer, tells TMZ, "These do not sound like the words of someone who was harassed or discriminated against by someone they described as 'THE QUEEN."

What's critical here ... Davis made her comments after the European leg of Lizzo's tour and after Season 1 of "Watch Out for the Big Grrrls." All of Davis' allegations involve alleged incidents before she shot this video -- an interview for Season 2 of the show, in which Davis pitches herself as a singer.

Davis and another plaintiff, Crystal Williams, appeared on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and acknowledged they were fired after Lizzo's team said their dancing was not up to par.

Lizzo broke her silence Thursday morning, saying, "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

Marty Singer adds, "They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and here a video shows that there are no legitimate claims in this lawsuit. We are confident that Lizzo will be completely vindicated in this matter."

Originally Published -- 6:25 AM PT

Joey Fatone is NOT taking offense to the NSYNC dig tucked away in the "Barbie" movie -- in fact, it's quite the opposite ... he says the low blow makes the band all the more relevant.

We got Joey at LAX Thursday and our photog asked about the NSYNC reference in the Greta Gerwig flick.

It seems everyone's seen "Barbie," Joey included, so this shouldn't be a huge SPOILER ALERT ... but midway through the movie, NSYNC gets name-dropped ... and not in a positive way.

Michael Cera's character, the Allan doll, jokes ... "Not one person would care if Allan was in the real world, in fact, it's happened before. All of NSYNC -- Allan. Yes, even him."

Joey's rolling with the punches here ... he's the first to admit everyone in the band, including Justin Timberlake, have all had their Allan moments ... and he's all about self-deprecation, so he can laugh it off no problem.

What's more, Joey tells us the reference means NSYNC is still relevant in 2023 ... so he's taking it as a huge compliment.

Kesha's got some good vibrations coming her way after her mom's pet pooch chewed her favorite sex toy to pieces.

ICYMI, the singer was "livid" Tuesday when she said she "Woke up this morning and saw my mom's dog chewed my $250 vibrator to pieces."

We-Vibe is swooping in to save the day, though ... because a spokesperson for the sex toy company tells TMZ they're well aware of Kesha's tragic situation and have already reached out to her to hook her up with a brand new gadget -- and more!!!

We're told Kesha's going to be getting a sweet gift box full of goodies -- and we've obtained a pic of the products being shown off by none other than We-Vibe's human-sized Clitoris ... though it's not clear if the costumed character will drop off the toys herself.

Lizzo is speaking out for the first time since being sued by three of her former backup dancers who claim she sexually harassed them.

The singer posted a statement Thursday, just days after she was sued. The singer says, "These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."

She continues, "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

She went on, "As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

She adds, "I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight."

She concludes her statement, "I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this time."

As we reported ... three of Lizzo's former backup dancers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez -- claim she subjected them to nude entertainment shows in Amsterdam and Paris on tour earlier this year, to what they say was the clear discomfort of her employees.

In the docs, the women say Lizzo pressured dancers to interact with sex performers at Bananenbar in Amsterdam, where patrons are known to eat bananas out of the performer's vaginas.

Two of Lizzo's accusers, Davis and Williams, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us what their experiences were working for Lizzo ... alleging all of her dancers operate in fear of losing their jobs if they don't bend to her demands and get rewarded for playing ball.

Beyoncé seemingly caught wind of the lawsuit too ... Bey noticeably failed to mention Lizzo by name in the lyrics for one of her songs during a concert in Boston as part of her "Renaissance" tour.

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

A couple of big Taylor Swift fans are out lots of loot and a great show ... showing up at the venue a day after the concert went down!!!

Bear Silber tells TMZ ... he snagged a pair of tickets for him and his wife months ago for what he thought was Taylor's show this past Saturday in Santa Clara, CA.

He paid $500 for the tickets, and coughed up $60 for parking. They arrived at Levi's Stadium with unbridled excitement, got through a security checkpoint and presented their tickets.

Imagine their shock when the tickets were scanned and they were told their tickets were for Friday night, not Saturday.

To say they were crestfallen is an understatement. As for who screwed up, well, Bear says he slept on the sofa Saturday night.

There is a happy ending to this story. Bear somehow snagged a second set of tickets for Taylor's show in Inglewood this coming Saturday. He has to work so he's not going, but his wife and her friend will be there. Those 2 tickets set him back $2,600. Oh, they live in Oakland so the flight will put him back another $600.

Britney Spears' ex-husband, Jason Alexander, is in police custody for stalking ... TMZ has learned.

According to online records, Alexander's being held in a Tennessee jail. He was booked around 10:30 Wednesday morning ... and is currently being held on $50K bond. Unclear when he's due in court.

Of course, it's not the first time Jason -- who was married to Britney for just 55 hours in 2004 after a Vegas ceremony -- has been in trouble with the law.

TMZ broke the story, Jason busted into Britney Spears' home on her wedding day back in June 2022 repeatedly saying he needed to talk to Britney, despite the fact he wasn't even on her wedding guest list.

Alexander made it as far as Britney's bedroom door, cops say he was armed with a knife, but thankfully never came face-to-face with Britney. He was eventually pinned down outside the home by employees setting up for the wedding until cops arrived and took him into custody.

Britney got a 3-year restraining order against Jason for the incident, and he was hit with a slew of charges including felony stalking, vandalism, and trespassing battery.

He pleaded no contest to aggravated trespass and battery, both misdemeanors, and two charges were dismissed -- felony stalking and misdemeanor vandalism. Jason was sentenced to 128 days in jail for the wedding fiasco.

Diddy will have to find another cannabis company to capitalize on, as the Bad Boy mogul's intended $185 million purchase to acquire a pair of marijuana operations is no longer going down.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Diddy waited in the wings as Cresco Labs and Columbia Care planned their proposed merger that was agreed upon last year.

However, we're told the shareholders never reached an agreement, and Diddy's deal was terminated earlier this week as a consequence. Diddy's team tells us he and his Combs Global empire still have a vested interest in pursuing opportunities to diversify the cannabis industry ... they just have to find the perfect fit.

The move would've made Diddy the owner of 9 stores throughout New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, with each having its own production facility ... effectively making him the biggest Black cannabis business owner.

Before these two loving sisters were famous singers and actresses, they were just looking after each other in Tennessee with their 4 other siblings, bringing their dreams to fruition ... and securing their spot in Hollywood!

These famous siblings come from a talented lineage ... like their father whose known for his long locks and songs like "Achy Breaky Heart!" And with both of these sisters on their own paths and journeys, they've also worked together on several occasions ... acting side by side on a hit Disney show, and singing a duet to Dolly Parton's "Jolene"!

Travis Scott's "Utopia" is headed to a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 -- but not all of the album's participants are celebrating.

Rapper KayCyy, who worked closely with Kanye West on his "Donda" album, is reaming Travis for not crediting him on the track "Thank God" ... despite his vocals being heard on the track.

KayCyy couldn't contain his anger and lashed out at Travis after fans kept pestering him about being left off the credits ... rapper Teezo Touchdown's name made the cut.

Another fan noted how Travis didn't acknowledge KayCyy's appreciation for the album on social media when it dropped last Friday ... another indicator for the Minnesota-bred rapper that Travis could be trying to avoid sharing the royalties altogether.

Interestingly enough, KayCyy initially began working on "Thank God" for Ye's "Donda" before it ended up in Trav's "Utopia" desert.

Lizzo makes it clear her backup dancers will face repercussions if they don't do what she asks, even if that means getting freaky at a live sex show ... at least, that's what 2 of the women suing her are claiming.

The singer's former backup dancers, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us about their experiences working under Lizzo.

Arianna and Crystal accused Lizzo of coercing backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... and they say there's an unspoken feeling among the group of having to bend to Lizzo's demands or be fired if they don't play ball.

As they allege in the lawsuit, sometimes that means eating bananas out of sex performers' vaginas in Amsterdam -- and they told us dancers who went along with Lizzo's idea of fun were rewarded with lavish private jet trips to tropical locations.

On the flip side, they claim dancers who didn't feel comfortable doing everything Lizzo wanted would be threatened with termination.

As for why they're no longer working with Lizzo -- Crystal says she was accused of drinking before performances, and Arianna claims Lizzo body-shamed her for gaining weight ... and she claims Lizzo used an admission of an eating disorder to justify firing her.

Lizzo has yet to comment publicly, or respond to the lawsuit in court ... but her accusers have a lot to say here.