Music

Ben Affleck is showing his softer side for Britney Spears ... revealing he felt "empathy" for the "Toxic" singer back in the day when all eyes were on her in the center of the ring -- as Brit put it -- just like a circus.

The "Good Will Hunting" star spoke about the "cruelty" of fame recently on the "This Past Weekend With Theo Von" podcast ... noting that although he did not know Brit at the height of her fame, he understands "the cycle of having people harangue you and yell at you and hassle you and follow you."

He even compared her to a tiger being poked and prodded until it erupts in anger, and commented on the unfair public perception it creates, explaining ... "What’s taken out of the image that you see are the people around waving the stick at the tiger or poking on it ... all you see is the growling anger."

It’s been 20 years and Shakira’s hips still don’t lie -- and she just reminded everyone with a performance that slapped, shook, and served.

Shakira hit the stage looking like she hadn’t aged a day in 2 decades -- diving into the sand in a fiery red dress, showing off her signature moves before bringing out her collab king, Wyclef Jean, on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

The Colombian queen went all out for the anniversary special -- pure nostalgia, hips in full swing, and a crowd-pleasing jam backed by live musicians.

DDG says streaming is the perfect way for artists to reinvent themselves nowadays ... because the usual music industry promotional hustle has simply become a snore, bore and chore all wrapped in one!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with DDG and his new haircut out on the town in L.A., celebrating the release of "blame the chat" ... the 15-track album he recorded on live stream right in front of fans' eyes.

The album features Wiz Khalifa, Offset, Rob49, PlaqueBoyMax and many more, details fans were privy to as the songs were being recorded in real-time.

BLACKPINK’s Lisa found herself in hot water for rocking Rosa Parks’ face on her underwear at the Met Gala -- but plot twist: the vision actually came from two Black creatives, including none other than Pharrell Williams.

Check out this clip of Pharrell breaking it all the way down -- walking folks through how Lisa’s Met Gala look nailed the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" theme -- which was all about paying tribute to dandyism in Black culture.

According to Pharrell -- the Met's co-chair and Louis Vuitton's creative director -- Lisa wasn’t just dressed up, she was wearing a piece of art that was all about honoring Black culture, especially considering how much the world borrows from it.

Smokey Robinson is being sued by 4 women who say they used to work for him ... claiming he repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped them during their employment.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Tuesday morning by four Jane Does claiming they used to work as housekeepers for the music star and his wife, Frances Gladney Robinson.

The 4 accusers -- who say they overlapped while working for Smokey and Frances -- claim they were assaulted multiple times ... with the first alleged incident occurring in 2007.

It took nearly 5 years, but Spectacular Blue Smith has officially put his Disney World arrest behind him ... prosecutors just dropped the case!!!

We broke the story back in December 2020 ... the Pretty Ricky rapper was charged with battery after being accused of punching an employee at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, where he was arrested ... for the first time in his life!!!

The criminal battery charge was officially dropped back in November ... and now Spec is celebrating a win in the civil case over the incident.

A$AP Rocky's whirlwind Met Gala hosting duties wouldn't have been possible had he been found guilty at his shooting trial ... a moment that's affected his music career -- but boosted his filmography!!!

While speaking to Variety, Rocky spoke out on how the attempted murder allegations levied by his ex-associate A$AP Relli were both “gut-wrenching and nerve-racking," but he was able to channel his emotions through his "Yung Felon" character in Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" film.

The trailer was released to match Met Gala's energy ... Rocky says portraying an inmate allowed him "to act like a piece of s*** who was going away for a long time but didn’t realize the consequences, because in real life, I knew exactly what the consequences felt like."

Bebe Rexha clapped back at Azealia Banks and other Met Gala haters, revealing she recently went through a pregnancy loss ... and urging people to think twice before tearing someone down over a red carpet look.

It all kicked off with Azealia, who -- while not at the Met -- took it upon herself to roast celebs from the comfort of her couch Monday night.

And she went in hard on Bebe ... "Sis gives me - hormonal birth control implant or something. It’s giving implanon/nuvaring she needs removed or depo shot that needs to stop happening (I’m not even tryna play her)."

Kanye West and Piers Morgan's latest interview came to a screeching halt -- and both guys have totally conflicting reports on what went wrong!!!

Ye and his new streaming buddy Sneako were live Tuesday with Piers from the same Mallorca, Spain mansion where they've been releasing new and old music ... when the conversation took a turn.

Ye can be seen telling Piers that he'll have to live with the response to the questions for the time being, before yanking out his earpiece within the early moments of the interview.

Rihanna says when the sun shines, we shine together ... but, when it rains, it's better to stay far apart -- 'cause the singer-songwriter took an umbrella to the face in stormy weather!

The singer-songwriter was out in New York City before the Met Gala on Monday ... and, while marching into the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan, she came up behind a man holding his own umbrella.

Check out the clip ... the man turns and his umbrella comes under RiRi's own -- which she's holding herself -- and appears to smack her right in the cheek.

Jay-Z has a new beef with his Jane Doe accuser -- even though she's dropped her lawsuit, he says she's on social media bragging she stands by her allegation he raped her.

Jay just filed an amendment to the defamation suit he filed against her and her attorney, Tony Buzbee. In the new docs, he calls out a TikTok she allegedly posted last month featuring some pretty angry lip-synched audio -- "You couldn't pay me a million dollars to get an apology video out of me, I stand on what I said, f*** you."

According to the suit, Doe publicly standing by her original claim she was raped "continues to display a shocking and reckless disregard for the truth that is both intentional and malicious."

The man allegedly behind the planned bombing of Lady Gaga's recent concert in Brazil was deported from the United States just last month ... this according to Brazilian investigators.

Luis da Silva and a 17-year-old male were arrested hours before the massive free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio, which brought out more than 2.5 million fans Saturday to cheer her on. Cops allege the two suspects planned to blow up bombs near the stage and execute fans, including children, at the show.

The New York Post reports authorities are now saying da Silva was kicked out of the United States in April ... however, they're still looking into the reason for the deportation.

Diddy has added a second Black attorney to his team of legal eagles ... because he just hired Nicole Westmoreland to work with his seven other lawyers to try to get him acquitted at his federal trial in NYC.

Westmoreland will work alongside another Black attorney, Xavier Robert Donaldson, and Diddy's leading trial lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who are both white.

Having two African American lawyers on Diddy's legal team is an interesting move, considering that his camp pointed to race as a major factor in what they say is a federal takedown of a rich, successful Black man.

Diddy's successfully excluded a prospective juror who took a cynical look at the legal system ... keeping a woman off the jury who thought the rap mogul might be able to purchase his freedom.

The exchange went down in court Tuesday ... with a judge asking Juror 48 if they answered "yes"  to any questions posed on the questionnaire -- and, she admitted there was one where she gave the affirmative, because of an alleged attempted rape.

While she didn't say she couldn't be fair, apparently she wrote on the questionnaire that the rap mogul has money and could potentially buy his way out of trouble.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is getting extra guidance in court from famed attorney Mark Geragos, but federal prosecutors ain't having it -- because Geragos doesn't have clearance to participate, and frequently discusses the case on his podcast, "2 Angry Men."

Geragos was in court for the first day of jury selection in Diddy's criminal trial -- seated somewhere behind the 7 attorneys Diddy has retained, all of whom have court clearance to defend him.

But, prosecutors say they noticed Geragos and other members of his firm, consulting with the defense team, and they think that's a party foul due to his side gig. In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, they cite a rule barring anyone associated with the defense from making public statements that could "interfere with a fair trial."

Celebs showed up for the fashion, but it wasn’t just about the style -- there were some epic big-name performances in the mix, too.

Usher and Stevie Wonder headlined at The Met Monday night, with Usher kicking things off, getting the crowd hyped with a medley of bangers -- including "U Don’t Have to Call," "OMG" ... and of course, "Yeah!"

Then Stevie Wonder took the stage with a nine-piece band and served a true musical feast -- belting out classics like "Higher Ground," "Isn’t She Lovely," and crowd-favorite "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."