Music

Morgan Wallen's loyal fans are gonna love this ... he's out and about, taking a golf trip with buddies -- but it's another strong sign he's getting ready to come out of hiding.

Morgan and friends were on the links Wednesday down in Puerto Vallarta, so there's a good chance the country music superstar is gonna be getting sand in his boots again. Whether that's on a beach or in a bunker ... who knows?

The way he was grinning while riding around in his golf cart -- he stands out in that hot pink trucker cap -- we'd guess Morgan was hitting 'em straight during this round and generally having a good ol' time.

It's been a while since he's had reason to smile.

The trip down Mexico way comes on the heels of Morgan's sit down with Michael Strahan ... where he finally spoke out about the night he casually dropped the n-word to friends at the end of a drunken night out in Nashville. He apologized, said he'd been to rehab and got council from Black leaders about the pain associated with the epithet.

Marilyn Manson says Esme Bianco's rape claims are not only bogus, but also come years too late for her to sue him ... this according to new legal docs.

The embattled singer just filed to dismiss the 'GoT' actress' claims of sexual assault -- and the crux of his argument is that she's way past the statute of limitations to go running to court over this, and as a result ... her claims should be tossed before they're heard by a jury.

There's also this, though -- in the court filing, obtained by TMZ, Manson's attorneys write that Bianco's claims are part of a "coordinated attack" among multiple women who he says are "cynically and dishonestly seeking to monetize and exploit the #MeToo movement."

Manson doesn't deny having sex with the women, but describes all the encounters as "consensual" relationships.

Manson's team goes further, saying Bianco "spent months plotting, workshopping, and fine-tuning" her story into "twisted tales that bear no resemblance to reality." They also say the accusers, Bianco included, are trying to publicly conflate his shock rock image with fabricated/horrifying claims of abuse.

Though Dusty wasn't supposed to play ... the band has canceled its show that was scheduled for Wednesday night in Simpsonville, SC.

ZZ Top's longtime bassist, Dusty Hill, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Dusty passed away at his home in Houston, TX -- this according to his bandmates, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard.

They write, "We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the 'Top'. We will forever be connected to that "Blues Shuffle in C." The boys add, "You will be missed greatly, amigo."

Unclear if Dusty's death is in any way related to another health scare he recently suffered -- namely, a hip injury that the band said he had to address in the past week or so, forcing him to bow out of a string of shows across the U.S. with his bandmates.

ZZT addressed the setback on Facebook not too long ago, writing ... "The members of ZZ Top, Billy, and Frank, would like to share that Dusty, their fearless Bass player, is on a short detour back to Texas, to address a hip issue. They await a speedy recovery and have him back pronto." They replaced Dusty with Elwood Francis ... who's been playing in his stead.

The group has yet to speak on Dusty's passing. They have a show scheduled for Wednesday night in Simpsonville, SC -- but something tells us that'll be canceled in light of this tragic news.

Dusty is one of the original founding members of ZZ Top -- serving as their lead bass player and secondary lead vocalist since they launched the rock band in 1969. He's also one half of the two famous bearded, sunglass-wearing men who help make up the trio ... with Billy obviously being the other.

They initially started as a blues-y act, but they eventually adopted a traditional rock sound ... which they stuck with and helped them launch into the mainstream in the '70s and well into the '80s as well. ZZ Top has churned out a whopping 15 albums over their storied career ... and are well-decorated for it, too -- serving as pillars of the genre for decades.

On top of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ZZ Top has been honored and recognized by different music organizations, especially in their home state of Texas. They've had wild success commercially too ... with several of their records having gone gold, platinum, multi-platinum and even one diamond offering in 1983's iconic "Eliminator."

That one produced perhaps their biggest hit to date, "Gimme All Your Lovin'," as well as others like "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," "Got Me Under Pressure" and more.

Despite not having made a new album since 2012, ZZ Top -- including Dusty himself, who's taken to the stage countless times over the years -- has continued to tour and entertain audiences around the world.

We last talked to Dusty and Billy on 'TMZ Live' back in 2019, when they were fresh off of a press run promoting a documentary covering their lives and careers. Ever the humorists, the fellas were cracking jokes about what they had (or hadn't, rather) seen just yet as far as cuts.

Dusty's finals words in our clip are quite timely right now -- he told us he'd "lived it" as far as what the doc covered, so seeing an early version didn't make much of a difference for them.

Lived he did, indeed. Dusty was 72.

RIP

DaBaby's controversial Rolling Loud performance continues to stir up trouble -- not just for him, but also for his surprise special guest ... Tory Lanez.

ICYMI, DaBaby went out of his way to do a big reveal of Lanez Saturday night during his set at the hip hop festival in Miami, but a lot of fans weren't happy about it ... because Megan Thee Stallion performed on the same stage right before the duo.

Tory's accused of shooting Megan in the foot last summer, and Rolling Loud sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... she and her team at the festival were very upset about him appearing on stage with DaBaby less than an hour after she finished her set.

That's because a judge issued a protective order following the alleged shooting incident, requiring Tory to stay at least 100 yards away from Megan ... and we're told she was still backstage when he took the stage with DaBaby.

Even worse, our sources say Megan's camp is miffed DaBaby performed one of her songs on which he's featured -- "Cash Sh**" -- right before bringing out Lanez. We're told those close to MTS feel this was a giant "f you" to her ... mocking her and the ongoing criminal case with Tory and, in a way, menacing her.

Our sources say after the elaborate reveal of Lanez went down -- and of course, after DaBaby also went on a homophobic rant during his set -- Miami PD were contacted about the possible violation of Megan's protective order ... and the L.A. County D.A.'s office was also informed.

A source close to Tory tells us he never saw Meg at the festival nor do they believe he ever got physically close to her.

Kanye West might be a billionaire, but he certainly isn't living like one ... he just showed off his living situation inside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium ... and it's pretty bare-bones.

Mr. West posted this picture of what we're guessing is his bedroom somewhere inside the stadium ... and it's just a bed, some clothes, workout equipment and a TV. Yeezy's also got a couple pairs of shoes and a bottle of water next to the bed ... and it seems he's living out of the suitcase on the floor.

As we first reported ... Kanye is living inside MBS while he finishes up his upcoming album, "Donda."

The stadium played host to Kanye's massive album party last week, and we're told he was so inspired by the crowd, he wanted to stay in the ATL and finish things up as he targets an August 6 release for the album.

Joey Jordison, one of the founding members of the heavy metal band Slipknot, has died.

Joey died in his sleep Monday, according to his family. The cause of death is unclear, but a statement from his loved ones says he passed away peacefully.

The family says Joey's death "has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow" ... and they're remembering him as a prolific drummer, musician and artist with a quick wit, gentle personality and giant heart.

Joey's loved ones tell us they will hold a private funeral service for him, but it's unclear when that will happen.

As you know ... Joey's famous for starting Slipknot way back in 1995, playing drums for the super popular band. With Slipknot, JJ played drums on 5 studio albums and performed on the live album, "9.0: Live."

Joey played in other bands as well ... he left Slipknot in 2013 and formed the band Scar The Martyr, also playing drums. He played guitar for the metal band Murderdolls and most recently was rocking out with the band Sinsaenum.

Over his career, Joey played with tons of heavy metal bands, like Rob Zombie, Korn, Metallica, Otep, Satyricon and Ministry.

Joey was 46.

RIP

A rare Wu-Tang Clan album once owned by convicted felon Martin Shkreli has been sold by the feds ... wiping his slate clean with the U.S. of A., financially speaking.

The feds said Tuesday it sold "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" ... Wu-Tang's only known physical copy that exists. You'll recall Shkreli, the guy who jacked the price of the AIDS/cancer medicine from $13.50 to $750 a pop, dropped $2 million for it back in 2015 at auction.

The sale of the album will cover the balance remaining on the $7,360,450 in forfeiture the judge ordered Shkreli to pay at his 2018 sentencing. According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds have already collected $5,121,967.70 ... leaving an outstanding balance of $2,238,482.

As for what the album sold for and to whom ... the feds aren't telling. According to prosecutors ... the sale's contract includes a confidentiality provision that protects information about the price and the buyer.

BTW ... the album includes a hand-carved, nickel-silver box as well as a leather-bound manuscript with lyrics and a certificate of authenticity.

Neither drugs nor alcohol are believed to be factors in the sudden death of Metal Church frontman Mike Howe ... according to cops.

A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. tells TMZ ... cops got a call Monday morning just after 10 AM in Eureka, CA reporting an unexpected death at a home. We're told when deputies arrived they found Mike dead at the scene.

Cops say drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the death and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were located at the scene. At the time of this post ... the cause of death is unknown.

The band released a statement on Facebook shortly after Mike's passing and said, "It is with our deepest regrets that we must announce the passing of our brother, our friend and true legend of heavy metal music."

The statement continued, "We are devastated and at a loss for words. Please respect our privacy and the Howe family’s privacy during this most difficult time."

Metal Church, universally credited with influencing the thrash metal genre, was formed in the 1980s and released 2 albums before Mike joined the group later that decade. He'd ultimately help pump out the band's third album ... "Blessing in Disguise," which churned out one of the group's most popular tracks, "Badlands."

The group would go on to release 2 more studio albums before the band broke up in the mid-1990s. The band ultimately got back together and Mike rejoined them in 2015.

Mike was 55.

Dua Lipa says she's "surprised and horrified" by DaBaby's anti-gay and sexist diatribe during his set at Rolling Loud ... she says it doesn't sound like the artist she thought she knew.

Dua Lipa, who worked on a song with DaBaby last year, just responded to his homophobic rant ... saying she can't believe he's spewing all that hate.

DL says "I don't really recognize this as the person I worked with" ... alluding to their 2020 collab on the song, "Levitating."

As we reported ... DaBaby told folks in the Rolling Loud crowd to put up their cell phone lights, encouraging them to do so in a very disturbing way by telling them ... "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n**** d*** in the parking lot."

DaBaby tried clearing up the vile comments following tons of backlash, posting a video where he claims the words weren't directed at his gay fans because his gay fans aren't "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies." In other words, he only made things worse.

Dua Lupa makes a clear distinction between her values and DaBaby's rant ... saying she stands "100% with the LGBTQ community" and calling on folks to come together to fight the ignorance and stigma around HIV and AIDS.

Britney Spears' mother is staying pretty tight-lipped about her daughter, which is interesting ... because she said a lot in new legal docs about removing Britney's dad from her conservatorship.

Lynne Spears was at LAX Sunday with Britney's brother, Bryan, but neither had much to say about the ongoing "Free Britney" saga.

Other than Lynne muttering that her daughter is doing fine, she seemed to want to keep her thoughts to herself ... but we know precisely where she stands on Jamie.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Lynne says she supports Britney's petition to remove her father as conservator of her estate.

Lynne says she became involved in the conservatorship in May 2019 during a "time of crisis" for which she clearly blames Jamie, saying he had "absolute control" over Britney's money and health decisions.

Lynne claims Jamie hired a doctor to treat Britney, but she and many others believe the doc was prescribing her "inappropriate medicine" she didn't want to take and forced her to enter a health facility after threatening punishment if she resisted.

According to the docs ... Lynne says with the conservatorship in place, the relationship between Britney and her father has "dwindled to nothing but fear and hatred" of Jamie.

Worth noting -- our sources say Britney can't stand her mom as well and they've been estranged for years. Britney also blames Lynne for her current circumstances.

DaBaby just attempted to explain why he went on an anti-gay and sexist diatribe during his set at Rolling Loud ... by now saying his gay fans don't have HIV/AIDS because they're not "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies."

ICYMI, the rapper performed at RL over the weekend, and at one point encouraged the crowd to put their cell phone lights up in a very disturbing way ... telling fans to put their phones up, "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n**** d*** in the parking lot."

The rapper attempted to clear up his vile comments Monday, posting a video and claiming his words weren't directed at his gay fans because they're not "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies" and they take care of themselves.

We reached out to festival organizers, but they've been radio silent.

Earlier in his set at RL ... DaBaby also pissed some fans off -- namely, Megan Thee Stallion fans -- when he revealed his surprise guest was Tory Lanez.

Meg had just performed before DaBaby, and in case you forgot ... Lanez is accused of shooting her in the foot after leaving a party last summer. Clearly, many folks think this was deliberate and abhorrent shade thrown at MTS.

Also getting involved in the controversy is T.I., who seemingly defended DaBaby's homophobic comments online, commenting ... "If Lil Nas X can kick his s**t in peace... so should dababy." He added the #equality hashtag as well.

Later, T.I. attempted to clarify his remark by saying he respects gay people, but doesn't believe homosexuals should have more rights than heterosexuals.

He also said he respects all gay people who are living their truth -- like Lil Nas X -- but added that X's performances and music videos "ain't for me" and said he doesn't want his kids watching them either.

Britney Spears and her new lawyer say Jamie Spears has stripped Britney of her dignity, autonomy and fundamental liberties ... and they lay out their case in new legal docs as to why he must be removed as conservator of her estate.

In the new docs, Britney and her attorney, former federal prosecutor Matt Rosengart, claim Jamie has essentially terrorized his daughter, forcing her to get certain treatments and signing off on drug regimens that were allegedly harmful to her.

The docs also challenge Jamie's management of the conservatorship, claiming he's made a king's ransom over the last 13 years. He gets $16,000 a month plus $2k a month for office expenses. He also got 1.5% of the gross revenues from her Vegas residency ... which brought in $137.7 million. The docs say Jamie's cut alone was at least $2.1 mil. The docs go on to say Jamie got $2.95% from Britney's 2011 Femme Fatale tour ... an estimated $500k.

Britney and Rosengart say Jamie is ill-equipped to manage Britney's business affairs, saying his family "struggled financially under his leadership and filed for bankruptcy in 1998."

The docs claim Britney's life has been upended by the conflict she has with her dad. The docs say they don't speak and the current situation is "traumatizing, insane and depressing."

The docs call the relationship "venomous" and "it impairs Ms. Spears's mental health, her well-being, and her ability to pursue and continue with her extraordinary career."

One of the more interesting parts of the document is the intimation Britney may have possibly needed some sort of conservatorship 13 years ago but things have drastically changed ... "Since receiving professional medical care at the outset of this conservatorship over thirteen years ago, Ms. Spears is clearly in a different place now, and she has been for many years. The entire world has witnessed Ms. Spears working tirelessly -- with astonishing dedication, precision, and excellence -- as a musical artist and performer, an exceptional earner for Mr. Spears (and others) who had a financial interest in making sure she would continue to work and perform."

Britney Spears and her new lawyer have made their move ... filing legal docs with the name of a person whom they want to manage the conservatorship ... as far as business deals are concerned.

Britney's lawyer, Matt Rosengart, filed the docs requesting that Jason Rubin be appointed conservatorship of her estate. Rubin is a CPA with lots of credentials which Rosengart presumably believes is perfectly suited to handle Britney's contracts and other business affairs.

Rubin has experience handling financial, elder abuse litigation and has managed complex trust portfolios ... this according to his website.

This all presumes, of course, that Rosengart and Britney can force the removal of Jamie as conservator of her estate.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Rubin would have all financial authority to manage Britney's estate, along with powers of attorney to make health care decisions, and manage real estate.

The powers of attorney are interesting. Health care decisions have been vested in the conservator of Britney's person ... currently Jodi Montgomery.

According to the docs, Britney and Rosengart also want Rubin to prosecute civil harassment restraining orders.

The docs list Britney's cash assets at $2,730,454, and her non-cash assets at $57,666,398. This is almost certainly not her complete financial portfolio. There are a lot of Morgan Stanley accounts listed, and real property (homes) are valued at $8,455,483.

TMZ broke the story ... Rosengart will first try to remove Jamie and then make a full-court press to end the conservatorship.

R. Kelly is facing new allegations in his criminal case out of Chicago -- which is about to go to trial next month -- including claims that he sexually abused a male minor ... whom he's said to have met at a McDonald's.

Prosecutors in Kelly's federal sex trafficking case filed the bombshell Friday, seeking to enter new evidence they say supports their accusations of a slew of new crimes they insist Kelly committed ... including alleged abuse of a male under the age of 18 in the 2000s.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kelly met a 17-year-old boy in 2006 at a McDonald's ... whom they say Kelly then invited to a party at his Chicago residence. The kid went with his parents, but the feds say Kelly told him to swing by next time by himself ... and, apparently, the 17-year-old did -- at which point, things allegedly turned sexual.

The feds say that upon returning visits to Kelly's place -- and under the guise of trying to help jumpstart the boy's singing career -- Kelly began a sexual relationship with him. Soon after that, prosecutors claim the 17-year-old intro'd Kelly to yet another minor male -- who was either 16 or 17 at the time -- and they say Kelly sought to sexually abuse him too.

It wasn't until years later, it seems, that something materialized between the second John Doe and Kelly, so say the feds. They say Kelly did, in fact, begin a sexual relationship with him as well -- but that he allegedly would command the guy to have sex with women in his orbit ... and allegedly filmed a lot of those encounters. There are new Jane Does sprinkled in the filing as well, BTW ... on top of the ones he's already alleged to have trafficked.

The McDonald's thing is interesting ... we know he's a fan of the Golden Arches. He went there for after posting bail and (temporarily) being sprung from jail more than 2 years ago.

Anyway, there are even more accusations the federal government wants permission to support with new evidence it says it's obtained ... including the claim that someone on R. Kelly's team successfully bribed a Cook County official for inside info on the case back in 2019.

Allegedly, that CC official took $2,500 from this Kelly team member ... as well as a burner phone so they could communicate. The official is said to be a clerk ... but is unnamed.

A judge has yet to rule on what Uncle Sam wants -- namely, to submit this new evidence they say they have, to have it looked over, which they hope leads to even further charges filed against the singer. This trial is supposed to get underway in about 4 weeks.

R. Kelly has other legal trouble in other states ... but the federal case seems to be the one that'll get started first. He's been given more time to secure and confer with new attorneys in the wake of much of his old legal team jumping ship in the past several months.

Kanye West packed the house for his 'DONDA' listening party -- but he packed in a whole lot more than just that ... dude set a record on Apple that no artist has ever come near.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Ye's album event this past week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta broke the Apple Music Global Livestream record ... with 3.3 million viewers who tuned in on their screens.

That's a heck of a lot more than the previous record, we're told, which was set by Gucci Mane and Jeezy in their highly-anticipated Verzuz battle earlier last year -- at a reported 1.8 million viewers. Kanye practically doubled the number as a solo act!

BTW, the 'DONDA' moment was a one-time deal -- meaning it aired live for people to stream, but hasn't gone back up on Apple for folks to watch again. So, that figure -- 3.3M unique sets of eyeballs -- is a one and done. It'd be a little harder to calculate if the thing was in circulation.

Our sources tell us once Kanye releases Donda -- it's projected to drop August 6 -- the Atlanta performance will be posted to Apple for fans to watch again.

Like we first told you ... even though the event is over, the party's still going for Kanye himself ... who's moved into MB Stadium (temporarily) to finish the album. Apparently, he was so inspired by the energy around him Thursday -- he just nestled in and got back to work.

P!nk says she's proud of the Norwegian women's beach handball team for standing up against the "very sexist rules" about their uniforms ... and she's offering to pay their fines for the protest.

The singer-songwriter went even further with her support too ... by calling on the European Handball Federation to instead be "fined for sexism" for levying financial penalties last week against the women.

ICYMI ... the ladies from Norway made a statement on their sport's uniform double standards last week by wearing shorts during a game instead of the required bikini bottoms.

The team had reportedly been planning the protest for weeks -- as you can see, the men are not required to wear uniforms nearly as revealing as the women -- and it resulted in each player getting fined around $177 each.