Music

The only thing missing from the streets of New York Friday night was Martha Reeves and the Vandellas ... because there were lots and lots of dancing in the streets, celebrating a presumed Joe Biden win.

A huge crowd gathered in Washington Square Park as the crowd danced as they sang to Donald Trump, "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye." The street set was followed up with "We Are the Champions," and then "Don't Stop Believin'."

New Yorkers who dislike Trump came out in droves to celebrate in the city Trump is apparently abandoning for Palm Beach.

President Trump should have one less thing to worry about -- the cop from the Village People's giving him the thumbs up to use "Y.M.C.A." ... in hopes POTUS won't get sued for it.

Victor Willis -- the founding member and lead singer of VP -- says the potential lawsuit brewing over the unauthorized use of their hit song at Trump rallies is meritless and won't succeed.

That's because Victor says his music company owns the U.S. copyright ... and he's decided to issue a retroactive nonexclusive license to the Trump campaign.

He says he made the decision because "the benefit of Trump’s use far outweigh any damage caused considering Y.M.C.A. is once again on the Billboard charts, and is now in the top of Apple iTunes chart sales."

Translation ... Victor doesn't want to kill this cash cow.

The disco-era classic was frequently heard blaring at Trump's rallies over the last couple of months. As we told you back in September ... other Village People members were annoyed their hit was being used to support Trump. It caused a rift in the group, because but Victor -- who co-wrote "Y.M.C.A." -- insisted he would not sue over it.

It came up again this week as lawyers for Scorpio Music -- which co-owns the copyright with Willis -- threatened to take legal action. Victor, however, claims his license move will shut down any infringement claims.

Rapper King Von is dead after a violent confrontation outside an Atlanta nightclub that ended in gunfire ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a deadly shootout broke out early Friday morning outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge in downtown Atlanta, with gunfire being exchanged between 2 groups of men who were arguing with each other.

Our sources say there were off-duty Atlanta police officers working at the club and an on-duty cop patrolling nearby ... and police also opened fire while confronting the gunmen.

In total, our sources say 6 people were shot, including 3 who remained at the scene and were transported to the hospital by EMS. We're told 3 other people fled, but also ended up in the hospital.

3 people died from their wounds, including King Von ... according to one of his close friends.

We're told no cops were injured in the shooting, which is now being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Atlanta Police Homicide.

It's unclear who shot King Von, sources say investigators are trying to sort out who shot who.

King Von was an up and coming rapper from Chicago, dropping his first single, "Crazy Story" in 2018 and was affiliated with Lil Durk.

RIP

King Von's death is hitting the sports world hard -- with NBA stars like Montrezl Harrell, Stephen Jackson, Evan Turner and more mourning the loss of a rising star gone too soon.

The rapper was shot and killed after a violent altercation outside a nightclub in Atlanta on Friday. He was only 26 years old.

Harrell shared his condolences to Von's family shortly after the news broke ... saying, "Damn it’s sad we lost another young brother to soon ... What is going on in the world."

"This the true sad part, three young blessings won’t see their dad come home again."

Jackson posted a video on Instagram ... calling for an end to senseless violence.

"Your brothers are not the enemy," Jackson said. "The ones got u thinking that are the real enemy. Wake up. Love for all who have love for all."

Turner also reacted on social media, saying, "This killing each other s**t gotta stop... Rest In Peace, King Von"

Other tributes came from athletes like Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenjon Barner, who said, "Damn I really just started listening to King Von and became a fan and he gone smh wow 2020 you got it we understand! RIPKingVon."

2016 NCAA champ Kris Jenkins spoke out in shock ... tweeting, "That king Von s**t wild smh RIP."

Ex-NFL first-round pick George Foster also recently came across Von's music, adding, "Man, I just really heard the King Von fella for the first time like last week, and thought 'jit ain’t bad.'"

"Now lil buddy gone smh."

The New England Patriots also honored the late rapper at practice on Friday ... playing his breakout hit, "Crazy Story," over the speakers.

RIP

PETA's making a strong effort to get Doc Antle in the USDA's crosshairs ... filing a complaint and asking the department to investigate him over Lil Pump's recent visit.

The animal rights org fired off a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture formally requesting it investigate the 'Tiger King' star for apparent violations of the Animal Welfare Act at his Myrtle Beach Safari.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ ... Debbie Metzler, associate director of captive animal law enforcement, cited Lil Pump's trip there this week, and a video that shows him make "direct physical contact with a juvenile tiger."

She claims it violates the law requiring that “dangerous animals such as… tigers… or elephants must be under the direct control and supervision of a knowledgeable and experienced animal handler."

Then there's the Lil Pump encounter with the elephant, Bubbles. Metzler calls the stunt exceptionally dangerous because it could have spooked the elephant and triggered the elephant to bolt and potentially injure people. PETA wants the USDA to hold Antle accountable for any and all violations it discovers during its investigation.

As we reported ... Pump and his boys took a trip to South Carolina and had one helluva close encounter with Bubbles. Video shows Pump getting picked up by the elephant's trunk. The rapper damn near fell off before safely landing on his feet.

Luke Bryan just took the Georgia-Florida rivalry to a whole 'nother level ... the country music superstar is now using Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy to cast a curse on the Gators!!!

Bryan -- a BIG Georgia fan -- revealed Thursday he and his wife won the rights to the trophy for 6 months at a charity auction last year ... donating cash to the Brett Boyer Foundation in exchange for the honor.

The thing is ... Tim waited until this week -- just days before the Gators-Bulldogs game on Saturday -- to deliver the award, and Bryan said he believes something was fishy about the timing of all that.

"I feel it was an effort to bring bad mojo into my household," said Bryan, who seriously LOVES the Dawgs.

So, what did Luke do to combat that???

REVERSE CURSE, BABY!!!

Bryan says he's now going to use Tim's trophy to try to will his Dawgs to a win over the Gators ... explaining, "I've got this all week to put a curse on the Florida Gators!"

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET in Jacksonville ... and, if the Gators start doing some funny things -- BLAME LUKE!!!

YNW Melly has a new problem, on top of his trial for murdering 2 of his friends ... the rapper is now being sued by their estates for tens of millions of dollars.

The estates of Christopher Thomas and Anthony Williams filed the wrongful death lawsuits. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Christopher's estate claims "damages are in the millions or tens of millions of dollars or more."

According to the suit filed by Anthony's estate ... Melly murdered him because of money. The suit says tension began to develop among Melly's friends about how money should be distributed, claiming greed was a factor in the alleged murders because it left fewer people to split up the cash.

YNW Melly's mom, Jamie King, and his manager, Jameson Francois, are also named in both suits. The Williams family claims Melly's manager played a role in the alleged murders, including an allegation Francois transported YNW Melly from the shooting location.

As you know ... Melly's been sitting in a Florida jail for over a year, awaiting his double murder trial for his friends' deaths. When he caught COVID-19, he asked to be let out and placed on house arrest, but the judge said no.

Carl Lentz -- best known as Justin Bieber's former pastor and mentor -- says his church booted him because he cheated on his wife.

A day after the Hillsong East Coast church announced they'd fired Pastor Lentz over "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures," Carl revealed those failures included infidelity.

Lentz says ... "I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that. This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions."

The pastor says he's deeply sorry, admits he failed to live up to the standard of a church leader and understands a change needed to be made because of his actions.

Lentz says he's now on a journey of rebuilding his relationship and trust with his wife, Laura, and their kids ... and shared a family photo at a formal event.

Lentz is famous, of course, because of his close relationship with Bieber ... there's a Hillsong church in L.A. too. Lentz and JB were inseparable for years and the singer considered him a friend and spiritual mentor ... at least up until mid-2018.

As we reported ... they had a major falling out around then, and it was contentious enough that Carl had trouble spitting out a congratulations to Justin when he got engaged to Hailey Baldwin.

The Biebs has continued to attend Hillsong on the west coast, but he and Carl were clearly no longer buddies as the pastor continued to lead the Hillsong NYC location.

Here's a possible reunion nobody asked for, but some people will welcome with arms wide open -- Creed's having "some dialogue" about possibly making it happen.

Ex-Creed drummer Scott Phillips let the cat out of the bag, saying ... "We tend to check up on each other when it's birthdays and holidays, things like that. So, there has been some chatter, and there's no specific timetable for anything or no specific plans, but it's a possibility down the road."

Millennials rejoice!!???

Scott unexpectedly opened up putting the band together again when he was talking to Audio Ink Radio. They caught him by surprise by pointing out Creed had updated its social media account with a classic photo of the band. He suddenly found himself having to explain.

As true Creed fans know ... the band broke up first in 2004 and reunited for a fourth album in 2009. They kept rocking (debatable?) until 2012, but they've been on a hiatus ever since. Phillips -- along with ex-Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti and bassist Brian Marshall -- have continued performing together as members of the band Alter Bridge.

As for their former frontman ... Scott Stapp pursued a solo career after the band's first breakup and continued to fly solo until joining Art of Anarchy in 2016.

Creed, which sold nearly 30 million records in the U.S. and was the ninth best-selling group of the 2000s ... has been just as famous for its legions of haters as it is for its hit records.

Marshmello's custom truck is making news for all the wrong reasons -- it was stolen from a dealership, and taken on a joyride that turned into a police chase and eventually a crash.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the hitmaker's truck was stolen from a local Ford dealer Wednesday while it was getting serviced. We're told the keys were in the truck ... allowing the suspect to hop in and hit the town.

We're told L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies, and later CHP, tried to pull over the truck for reckless driving but the suspect took off ... kicking off a wild police chase through Los Angeles. The driver's ultimate demise? Taco Bell.

After pulling into a Taco Bell parking lot ... it tore out and crashed into a utility pole while trying to make a turn. The suspect was arrested for felony evading and possession of a stolen car.

TMZ broke the story ... Marshmello dropped around $500k back in early 2019 for his pimped out truck that features Rolls-Royce lights. The Ford Super Duty is a whopping 26-feet long with 2 extra wheels for a 6x6 conversion and a freaking TRAIN HORN.

Looks like Marshmello's going to need to find a place to repair the truck's damages. But, maybe find a different dealership.

Love him or hate him, politically ... Lil Pump is having a blast right now, and hung out with some exotic animals to top it off -- which might add to his hate column.

The Trump-loving rapper was fresh off the Trump campaign trail Wednesday when he decided to make a pit stop at the Myrtle Beach Safari run by 'Tiger King' star Doc Antle.

Antle tells TMZ ... Pump and some friends left D.C. and headed to South Carolina after the rapper got in touch with Doc through Tiger Kingdom executive producer Steven Dorn.

Doc says Pump spent the afternoon chilling with tigers and tiger cubs, riding Bubbles the elephant and visiting with Angada the chimpanzee, and as you can see ... he was loving it.

We're told Lil Pump and his pals then had dinner at the park, and all of the fun was filmed for the new docuseries, "Tiger Kingdom: More Than a King."

Gotta say, the pairing of the rapper and the zoo owner's an interesting one ... as both fellas aren't necessarily on the nation's most-popular list. Pump's been getting major flak for endorsing Trump -- but he doesn't really care -- and Antle was recently indicted for wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty.

Doc denied the allegations and said he's looking forward to being able to "clear my good name."

Wanna play Kenny Chesney's guitar? Or slip on George Clooney's watch? How about a designer bag from Jennifer Aniston's closet? You've got a shot and it's all for a good cause.

Here's the deal ... Kenny, Jen and a bunch of other celebs are marking Veterans Day this year by supporting Homes for Our Troops and raising funds with a massive online auction. Other items going to the highest bidder include a dress worn by Mindy Kaling and a chance to hang on set with Jake Gyllenhaal.

The auction opens Tuesday -- the day before Veterans Day -- and it's being spearheaded by George, Mindy, CNN's Jake Tapper and Wynonna Judd. This year's auction looks a little different due to the pandemic, and a bunch of famous folks are offering zoom hangouts in lieu of meet and greets.

George's watch, Jen's Louis Vuitton tote and Kenny's guitar are all autographed ... and there's a bunch of signed sports memorabilia from NFL players like Jimmy Garoppolo, Baker Mayfield, Chandler Jones and Jimmy Graham.

Get in your bids before the November 17 deadline, and you could win a zoom chat with celebs like Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Dave Matthews, Elizabeth Banks, Jerry Seinfeld and Olivia Wilde.

English artist Dido (real name Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong) was in her 20s when she gained fame after she released her debut album No Angel ... which included the bangers "Here With Me" and "Thank You."

Dido was thrust into the limelight in the United States after the first verse of "Thank You" was sampled on Eminem's emotional rap song "Stan." Eminem went on to collect a handful of award nominations for his song and famously performed it at the 2001 Grammy Awards with Elton John singing Dido's lyrics.

Dido continues to make music and released an album earlier this year with her brother titled "The Last Summer."

Britney Spears says her business manager quit out of the blue, but she claims her bigger issue is that her dad hired a new manager without giving her any notice.

Britney's legal team filed docs requesting Bessemer Trust Company become the sole conservator of her business affairs ... as opposed to just co-conservator with her father, Jamie. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Britney says the move that set things in motion was an October 28 letter telling her that Tristar Sports and Entertainment Group resigned as Britney's business manager without any prior notice.

She says she's got beef with her dad for hiring Michael Kane of Miller Kaplan to come on as the new business manager without giving her notice or a chance to interview Kane, review the terms of his hiring, or consider alternatives.

Britney also says the move brings serious concern because Jamie's goal "is to introduce a new gatekeeper who admittedly has a major working relationship with [Jamie's] legal team."

Britney claims it's all part of Jamie's attempts to "retain full functional control of her assets, books and records."

The guy who helped kidnap Tekashi 6ix9ine -- one of his then-fellow gang members in the Nine Trey Bloods -- just got the book thrown at him for that crime.

Anthony "Harv" Ellison was sentenced Wednesday in a federal court in NYC, where the judge gave him 24 years in prison for the racketeering, kidnapping, and assault charges for which he was convicted last October.

In addition to his time behind bars, Ellison was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. His sentence comes more than a full year after his trial -- where Tekashi infamously snitched ... taking the stand and identifying Ellison as his kidnapper.

The kidnapping was just the tip of the iceberg though -- federal prosecutors successfully nailed Ellison, with Tekashi's help, for various other crimes connected to the Nine Treys.

You'll recall ... Tekashi was initially tight with Ellison, until their relationship soured -- after which, Ellison planned out the kidnapping scheme to get revenge ... according to T69's testimony anyway. Tekashi was abducted, taken for a ride around town, pistol-whipped and extorted for money -- some of which was captured on camera and played for the jury at trial.

Tekashi's then-GF was actually seen on camera handing over a bag of goods in exchange for Tekashi's safe return. That, coupled with Tekashi's snitching, helped seal Ellison's fate.

Offset's got an appetite to help people exercising their Constitutional right ... by hooking them up with free grub.

The Migos rapper hit up 3 polling locations Tuesday in Gwinnett and Fulton counties with some major back-up -- food trucks from The Slutty Vegan and Big Dave's ... a couple of ATL staples famous for their cheesesteaks.

Offset partnered with The Lincoln Project and AXSD Media to feed folks in line waiting to cast their vote ... helping to ensure turnout is maximized for what could be the most consequential election ever.

Offset got on the back of a truck, grabbed a bullhorn and talked about his excitement in voting for the first time ever.

Offset dove headfirst into the election following an informative roundtable discussion last weekend with T.I. and activists Lee Merritt and Bakari Sellers. They discussed, among other things, the importance of Black male voters encouraging each other to turn out the vote.

If ya can feed people who show up to vote ... major bonus!