Music

Justin Bieber made somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion as the world's biggest pop star, but he blew it all ... and ended up being in such dire financial shape he had to sell his music catalog for $200 million.

TMZ has a new documentary, "TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber," now available on Hulu, and part of our investigation digs into Justin's money problems.

People on Justin's side told us he was on the verge of "financial collapse" back in 2022 ... so much so that he felt he had to sell the rights to his music that December.

12:22 PM PT -- Smokey Robinson's attorney Christopher Frost tells TMZ ... "We are aware that a police report has now been filed by the Plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit. It is clear to us what is happening here. Plaintiffs filed a police report only after they filed a $50 million lawsuit. This means only that the police are now required to investigate. We welcome that investigation, which involves Plaintiffs who continue to hide their identities, because exposure to the truth is a powerful thing."

He adds ... "We feel confident that a determination will be made that Mr. Robinson did nothing wrong, and that this is a desperate attempt to prejudice public opinion and make even more of a media circus than the Plaintiffs were previously able to create. The record will ultimately demonstrate that this is nothing more than a manufactured lawsuit intended to tarnish the good names of Smokey and Frances Robinson, for no other reason than unadulterated avarice."

Smokey Robinson is now the subject of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigation after multiple women came forward and filed police reports alleging sexual assault ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... three alleged victims -- all female -- filed police reports against Smokey on Friday with the sheriff's department. The department's special victims' unit has opened a criminal investigation into the claims. We're told the investigation is in its early stages.

Our sources say investigators will reach out to Smokey to try to speak to him about all the allegations made against him in these police reports.

What are believed to be human remains have been discovered near Taylor Swift's Rhode Island mansion.

The body part was located Wednesday morning in the ritzy Westerly neighborhood, police confirm to TMZ.

The site of the discovery is just blocks from the home at which Taylor is known to host star-studded gatherings ... though she hasn't been spotted there in quite some time.

Diddy's defense says his sexual preferences are part of a swingers lifestyle, and Cassie just testified that they did some swinging.

Cassie is being cross-examined by Diddy's defense attorney Anna Estevao, and she confirmed she had conversations with Diddy about a "swingers lifestyle" when they were in a relationship.

The singer says she experienced swinging firsthand when she accompanied Diddy to sex clubs ... watching him have sex with other women multiple times -- which sounds like a reversal of the freak-offs, where a previous witness said Diddy would watch her have sex with a male sex worker.

SZA's all about adding to her loyal fans' "Good Days" ... 'cause she made one lucky dude's day by giving him free pit tickets to her show -- and shouting him out onstage.

The singer-songwriter took the stage at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts earlier this week during the "Kendrick Lamar and SZA: Grand National Tour" ... and, during the performance, she leaned forward into the pit to wish her new pal Michael well.

Check out the clip ... SZA leans forward, waves and says "Hi, Michael" before dancing across the stage -- going from playful to businesslike in no time at all.

Chris Brown is in trouble with the law again -- the R&B singer was arrested Thursday in the United Kingdom over a bottle-throwing incident at a nightclub two years ago ... TMZ has confirmed.

Brown was taken into custody at a hotel in Manchester, England early Thursday morning on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, according to law enforcement sources.

The Sun reported Brown was busted hours after he flew into town on a private jet, landing in Manchester Airport.

Justin Bieber's got nothing to hide ... because he's posting everything on social media -- including a new pic with a bong in his lap.

Check out the gallery -- just a day after the pop star went on a bizarre rant about God, people pleasing, fishing and more, he hopped back on Instagram to share a carousel of photos Wednesday night, the first of which shows him grinning from ear to ear with a bong placed front and center -- and possibly a vape of some sort in his hand.

The pics appear to be taken from his studio in Iceland, where he's been staying the last several weeks while he works on new music.

The Jacksonville Jaguars came up with a short and sweet way to reveal their 2025 schedule to fans ... by utilizing Sabrina Carpenter's famous "Juno" sex positions to get it done.

The team dropped easily the hottest video as all 32 squads used their creativity to announce their order of opponents ... sharing the singer's viral tour poses and comparing them to the logos throughout the league.

For those who haven't caught any of her shows, Carpenter -- who has made it clear she loves banging -- ends her "Juno" song with a slew of sex positions ... which has become quite a phenomenon with her fanbase.

Cassie had a lot to say in her second day of testimony in the Diddy criminal trial ... testifying about freak-offs, physical abuse, suicidal thoughts and rape.

The prosecution's star witness was back on the stand Wednesday and she told the jury about the first time Diddy beat her and how he showed her footage from the freak-offs and threatened to release them.

She testified about the end of their relationship in 2018 ... telling jurors how he took her home after a nice closure conversation and then raped her on the living room floor.

50 Cent is getting an apology from a jeweler in New York City who was being sued by the rapper for allegedly using Fiddy's name and face to sell knockoffs of his famous crucifix chain ... and 50's case against him has been dismissed.

Maksud Agadjani from TraxNYC posted an apology to 50 Cent on all of his social media platforms ... and taped a printed out version of the statement to a storefront in the Big Apple.

In the apology, Agadjani says he's "writing to express my sincere and heartfelt apology" and he acknowledges using 50's name, image and other IP rights to "advertise, market, and sell my jewelry products without your permission."

One of the biggest mysteries in the Diddy-Cassie saga was answered at the music mogul's federal criminal trial Wednesday ... Cassie settled her lawsuit against Diddy for a whopping $20 million!

Federal prosecutor Emily Johnson was grilling Cassie on Day 2 of her testimony at Diddy's sex trafficking trial in NYC when the questioning turned to a book she wrote about the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of Sean "Diddy" Combs -- her former longtime boyfriend.

Cassie testified that her mom helped her write a "book with chapters," which she wanted Diddy to read. She testified she sent the chapters to Diddy through her attorney, but Diddy didn't take her book seriously.

Could Joe Jonas be catching that love bug, again? The singer was spotted grabbing some drinks with a mystery brunette in NYC Tuesday night ... and the pair looked totally locked in on one another.

Check out our pics ... the pair's tucked away in a corner table for two at Schmuck in the East Village -- a European-style bar that just opened in January.

The duo seems focused on their conversation and not worried about the outside world as they sipped on some drinks for -- an eyewitness tells TMZ -- three whole hours.

3:35 PM PT -- Blake's attorney Michael Gottlieb just filed a motion to strike Justin Baldoni's letter from the court docket as "baseless, unnecessary, improper and abusive."

Blake Lively's attorneys allegedly tried to force Taylor Swift into publicly supporting Lively in her beef with Justin Baldoni by threatening to release Taylor's private text messages if she didn't play ball ... at least according to Baldoni's lawyer.

In new legal docs obtained by TMZ, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman claims the subpoena he sent to lawyers for Taylor was intended to get information related to possible witness tampering and evidence spoliation.

Freedman claims he has it from a good source that Blake allegedly requested that Taylor delete their text messages.

More fireworks from the Cassie Ventura testimony in the Diddy case ... she told the jury Diddy raped her on the floor of her own home after they broke up -- and she later tried to hurt herself because she couldn't take all the pain.

The singer testified Wednesday that in August 2018 they had a closure conversation to shut the book on their relationship ... meeting at a restaurant in Malibu, where Diddy was being nice, playful and romantic. She said he drove her home and forced sex on her.

Cassie told the jury Diddy's eyes went black as he raped her on her living room floor.

3:47 PM PT -- Alex Spiro tells TMZ ... "Tory Lanez was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers and his case was properly adjudicated through the court system. This is not a political matter -- this is a case of a violent assault that was resolved in the court of law."

As he recovers from the brutal prison stabbing, Tory Lanez's reps held a press conference to claim Megan Thee Stallion's ex-BFF Kelsey Harris is the one who should be locked up for the 2020 shooting!!!

Several constituents for Unite The People addressed the media on Wednesday in Downtown L.A., and the org's lead legal consultant, Walter Roberts, claims a bodyguard by the name of Bradley James overheard Kelsey admitting to actually firing the gun that shot Megan.

James allegedly heard Kelsey say she fired the gun 3 times, in which Tory grabbed her arm and knocked it down, causing the weapon to fire 2 times more.

Cassie Ventura says Diddy freaked out on her after finding out she was hooking up with Kid Cudi ... threatening her with a wine opener and telling her he would release a video on Christmas showing her participating in a "freak-off."

The singer testified in court Wednesday that Diddy found out she was seeing Kid Cudi in 2011 when he went through her phone during a freak-off.

Cassie told the jury Diddy found an email about Cassie taking her toiletry bag to Kid Cudi's place ... and he put a wine opener in his hand and threatened her.