Denzel Washington sandwiched a whirlwind trip to the Cannes Film Festival, in between Broadway performances, for the premiere of Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” on Monday — and was rewarded with a surprise: an honorary Palme d’Or.

Cannes had flipped around some of its scheduling to accommodate Washington’s speedy France trip, which came on his lone off-day while performing “Othello” in New York. Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux surprised Washington with the award before the Monday premiere.

“This is my brother, right here,” said the film’s director, Spike Lee, who passed the award to Washington.

“This is a total surprise for me,” said Washington.

The festival usually gives out one or two honorary Palmes each edition. Robert De Niro received one on the festival’s opening night last week. De Niro’s award was announced in advance, but surprise prizes aren’t unheard of.

The film’s premiere also had another surprise: Rihanna attended and walked the carpet afterward with partner A$AP Rocky.

While the festival’s photo calls usually happen the day after a film’s premiere, Cannes hosted one for “Highest 2 Lowest” earlier Monday so Washington could attend. The actor, playfully posing with Lee and co-star A$AP Rocky, showed no signs of jet lag and left once the screening began.

“He told me to tell you: Thank you for the love,” Lee told the crowd. “He’s on Broadway doing ‘Othello,’ so it really took a lot for him to fly here. Let’s give it up for Denzel Washington, please.”

Lee also came to Cannes with obligations back in New York on his mind. He arrived at the film’s premiere decked out in Knicks colors.

Salt-N-Pepa sue for music rights: Salt-N-Pepa are telling their record label not to push it as they fight for the rights to their music.

The duo behind hip-hop classics including 1993’s “Shoop” and 1987’s “Push It” say in a lawsuit that Universal Music Group is violating copyright law by refusing to agree to turn over the rights to their master recordings.

Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton filed the lawsuit in federal court in New York on Monday asserting that the copyright act of 1976, which says that after several decades artists can terminate previous agreements and reclaim ownership of their recordings, clearly applies to them.

The fight, which has led to UMG pulling Salt-N-Pepa’s music from streaming services, comes as many artists are making lucrative sales of their catalogs, while others get stuck in battles over old contracts.

“UMG has indicated that it will hold Plaintiffs’ rights hostage even if it means tanking the value of Plaintiffs’ music catalogue and depriving their fans of access to their work,” the suit says.

May 21 birthdays: Singer Ron Isley is 84. Keyboardist Bill Champlin is 78. Actor Mr. T is 73. Drummer Stan Lynch is 70. Actor Judge Reinhold is 68. Director Nick Cassavetes is 66. Actor Lisa Edelstein is 59. Actor Fairuza Balk is 51. Rapper Havoc is 51. Actor Sunkrish Bala is 41. Actor David Ajala is 39. Actor Sarah Ramos is 34.