Family

Britney Spears reacted with sadness and anger late Thursday night, saying she's disappointed Jayden is now talking publicly about his mom's challenges as a mother.

Britney posted, "It saddens me to know [Jayden's] outcry of saying I wasn't up to his expectations as a mother."

15-year-old Jayden did a sit down interview with Daphne Barak for DailyMail in which he said, "I think mom has struggled giving us both attention and showing us equal love and I don't think she showed enough to Preston and I feel really bad for that."

Sources directly connected to Kevin Federline's family have told TMZ about Jayden's grievance, saying it has deeply disturbed K-Fed as well. They say when Jayden and Sean Preston would come over to Britney's house, all of the attention went to Jayden. They went on to say it hurt not only Sean Preston but really hurt and angered Jayden as well.

Jayden, who along with Preston hasn't seen their mom in nearly 6 months, added, "We've both been through so much pressure in the past that this is our safe place now, to process all the emotional trauma we've been through to heal, heal our mental state."

Jayden then went on to talk about Britney's mental state, saying, "It's just going to take a lot of time and effort. I just want her to get better mentally. When she gets better I really want to see her again."

Britney responded to Jayden referencing her own struggle, saying, "Finally at 40 without the restraints of what my family did to me ... I say to my son Jayden that I send all the love in the world to you every day for the rest of my life!!! My love for my children has no boundaries."

She then took a shot at Jayden, "As for my mental health ...my dear child understand you must learn to pick up a book and read one before you resort to even thinking about my intellect sweetheart!!! For the record, intellect and mental health are 2 different things.

And, that opens the door to a sore subject -- Jamie Spears. Jayden defended his gramps, saying he didn't deserve all the venom from the FreeBritney folks, adding, "He was just trying to be a father."

Britney wasn't having it ..."Psss if you can honestly sit back and say with your sensible brilliant mind what memaw and paw paw did to me was fine and call them not bad people ... then yes I have failed as a mother and hopefully that's a chat for you and your father to sit face to face and try to learn WHAT'S GOOD."

It appears one of the big reasons Britney's kids didn't attend her wedding was because most other family members -- including Jamie -- weren't invited.

Gospel star Earnest Pugh is feeling the wrath of Dionne Warwick this morning after he incorrectly announced the death of Whitney Houston's mother -- someone who's very much alive, according to Dionne.

Earnest shook up the Internet Wednesday with a now-scrubbed post about the "passing" of Cissy Houston, who is also Dionne's aunt ... so, it didn't take long for Dionne to call BS and throw some serious shade.

Dionne told the world Cissy is still with us, adding "This Earnest Pugh needs to get a life and stay out of other peoples lives!"

Friend of the Houston family and fellow Gospel singer Kim Burrell echoed the good news, minus the sass ... saying, "Please respect her life as she continues to live. She's home. Thank you all🙏🏽"

Good to hear Cissy's alive and well after all -- and, not shockingly, Earnest has yet to respond to Dionne.

It's been a long time coming, but Stephen Curry is FINALLY in the rafters at Davidson -- the NBA superstar had his jersey retired this week ... after officially receiving his degree from his alma mater!!

We know what you're thinking -- how on earth has this not happened yet?! As it turns out, Davidson has a strict rule against giving the honor to players who didn't finish their education.

With that being said, Curry -- who spent 3 seasons starring at Davidson -- put in the time to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Sociology ... and on Wednesday, he was inducted into the Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame!!

While at Davidson, Curry averaged over 24.7 points per game in his 3 seasons with the Wildcats ... including a staggering 28.6 points per game in his final year with the program.

Steph's wife, Ayesha, and their three kids were on campus to support him ... and his parents, Dell and Sonya, took the podium to share a few words about their son's latest achievement.

Steph was one semester short of graduating, so the 2-time MVP re-enrolled at the school for the spring semester, working closely with two professors to achieve his goal, per Davidson.

It was all about Steph on Wednesday ... because he was the only one walking at the commencement!!

Once Curry completed his final semester of coursework, it paved the way for Davidson to honor the three-point sniper by hanging his jersey in the rafters for good.

During his speech, Steph was overwhelmed with emotion ... calling his move to pursue education at Davidson the best decision he ever made.

Curry is fresh off winning his 4th NBA title in June after defeating the Celtics in the Finals ... so there's a lot to celebrate.

Chris Rock invoking the late Nicole Brown Simpson didn't land with the public, and it's definitely not landing with her family either -- 'cause he's getting dragged by them.

Tanya Brown, Nicole's sister, tells TMZ ... CR's crack wasn't just unfunny, it literally doesn't make sense. She says equating getting slapped at the Oscars to a gruesome double homicide is apples to oranges -- so, she thinks it's lacking in logic and a basic connection.

With that said, Tanya tells us his attempt at humor was distasteful to say the least, and offensive to the extended family ... especially since she believes it was totally gratuitous.

What TS wants Chris -- and anyone else who might want to invoke Nicole's murder in their bit -- to know is this ... there are still surviving family members who are still dealing with her loss to this day, and this type of stuff hits close to home and hurts people.

Tanya says she thinks Chris could've used any other analogy to make his point ... and didn't have to punch down to something that doesn't even relate -- coming off as tacky as a result. She believes comedians should be held accountable for what they say, including Chris.

Well, one could argue that's happening right now ... CR is certainly being called out by a lot of people online, who also thought the joke was cringe-worthy.

Some are so outraged by him name-dropping Nicole and likening her tragic situation to his ... that a select few are even suggesting maybe he deserved getting smacked by Will Smith. Remember, he said him going back to host the Oscars would be like NBS going back to the restaurant she was at before being killed to get her eyeglasses. Indeed ... grimace territory.

Michael Jackson's estate just scored a big legal win ... preventing a potential sale of MJ property the estate claims was stolen from the singer's home right after his death.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Jeffre Phillips from selling any items he allegedly removed from the residence back in 2009.

TMZ broke the story ... Michael's estate claims Phillips was engaged to one of MJ's siblings and used the chaos and sadness around Michael's death to take a bunch of personal and private property from MJ's Carolwood House.

Michael's estate claims Phillips used a 9-day stay at the Carolwood House to swipe the singer's iPhone, California driver's license, prescription pill bottles with pills inside, handwritten notes and some clothes, including the pajamas Michael was wearing in the final hours before his death inside the famous estate.

What's more, Michael's estate alleges Phillips also stole a resuscitator tube that may have been used on the King of Pop.

The legal development comes just before a new TMZ documentary, "TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson," airs Tuesday on FOX at 8/7c.

Full-circle moment for LeBron James -- the NBA superstar is on the cover of Sports Illustrated once again ... this time, with his two sons, Bronny and Bryce, by his side.

The outlet released the cover for its October 2022 issue on Tuesday ... showing LeBron standing inside the Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary gymnasium with his boys to his left and right.

The honor is extra special for the King -- he first graced the cover in 2002 as a high school prodigy (when he was dubbed "The Chosen One") ... and has gone on to appear on the cover nearly 40 times over the next 20 years.

The 4-time NBA champ's wardrobe choice for the photo shoot is a nod to his iconic S.I. debut ... wearing the cover on his T-shirt.

The cover comes with a long feature about LeBron and his family ... and of course, the topic of playing alongside 17-year-old Bronny (and even Bryce) is brought up.

While the King has made it clear he wants to play alongside his oldest, he reveals he isn't counting out the possibility of suiting up with his 15-year-old, too ... which means he'd still be in the league in 2027.

The parents of former Bills punter Matt Araiza say they've received "horrific threats of violence and death" in the wake of rape allegations made against the football player last week.

Araiza's mom and dad explained their situation in a lengthy statement to KUSI in San Diego on Monday evening -- saying "we have all been canceled" following a civil lawsuit that alleged Araiza participated in the gang rape of a 17-year-old in October 2021.

"There has been war waged on our son," the statement, which was attributed to "Mr. and Mrs. Araiza," read. "He has been tried and convicted in the media based on information released solely from the alleged victim and her attorney, much of it through social media."

"People have taken his information as factual, when it is not."

A woman ID'ed as only "Jane Doe" in court documents, filed last week, alleged that shortly after she showed up to a Halloween party at Araiza's home in San Diego when he was a member of the San Diego State football team, he and two of his teammates took turns raping her for over an hour.

Araiza denied the allegations shortly after the suit became public ... but the Bills cut him regardless on Saturday.

The 22-year-old punter's parents say it's been hell for them since ... adding in their statement, "[Matt] has been extorted, discriminated against, harassed and the subject of multiple and continuous threats of violence and death."

"Salacious rumors grew as fact," they continued. "There are multiple witness reports to deny the claims that are made against him. The legal system is designed to find the facts and make decisions. They should be allowed to do that."

John Wall is opening up about the toughest experiences he's faced over the past two years ... admitting he had suicidal thoughts after dealing with a series of career-altering injuries and trying to cope with losing loved ones in his family.

The new Clippers point guard opened up in a recent interview, where he got candid about some of the things that have been plaguing him mentally as he battled his way back on the court.

"Darkest place I ever been," Wall said. "At one point in time, I thought about committing suicide. My mom being sick. My mom passing. My grandma passed a year later."

Wall -- who ruptured his Achilles tendon in 2019 -- said seeing his mother take her last breath was tough to overcome, especially amid the COVID pandemic.

The former Wizards star expressed the losses of his mother and grandmother weighed heavy on his heart and mind ... and not playing basketball had him contemplating ending his life.

Thankfully, John says he was able to overcome his mental demons and get back on the right track -- both physically and mentally -- with help from therapy.

"Find a therapist," Wall said. "You know a lot of people think, 'I don't need help. I can get it through it at any time.' But, you got to be true to yourself and find out what's best for you.

"And I did that."

Ultimately, Wall thinks the adversity he endured has made him a stronger person, father, and player, and he feels equipped to tackle any problems life throws at him.

"If I can get through this, I can get through anything in life," Wall said. "I don't think a lot of people could get through what I went through."

Reggie Miller just announced his dad has passed away ... and the NBA legend says he's completely heartbroken over the death.

"This HURTS," the former Indiana Pacers star said on his social media page on Monday.

"The man who bought me my first set of baseball cleats, first basketball, who taught me to drown out all the outside noise and FOCUS is now and will forever be my guardian angel."

Miller's father, Saul, had five kids with his wife, Carrie -- including Reggie and Cheryl Miller, a former basketball star herself.

In his Instagram post, Reggie thanked his dad "for EVERYTHING" he's done for him and the Miller family.

"Say hello to Mom for us," the 57-year-old former shooting guard wrote, "know that your teachings will live on threw me to my kids."

"Please respect my brothers and sisters during this time," he added, "though difficult he’s in a much better place.. #PopGuardianAngel"

Saul grew up an athlete ... according to author Mark Montieth, he played hoops in high school and at Lemoyne College.

Reggie has spoken about the impact his dad had on his life and career before ... thanking him at length in his 2012 Hall of Fame speech.

"You made time to be there for all of us," Reggie said. "So, again, Dad, Mom, thank you so much for everything you've done for us."

Saul also served 26 years in the Air Force and was a jazz musician.

Johnny Depp's brief cameo at the VMAs was embraced by some, but it's stirring up outrage as well -- specifically from Amber Heard's sister -- who went in on MTV.

Whitney Henriquez posted a screenshot of MTV's award show logo, but she placed an ominous letter at the front ... a big capital D. So now, on Whitney's page, it reads DVMA -- which alludes to domestic violence.

She writes, "@MTV YOU'RE DISGUSTING AND CLEARLY DESPERATE! I REALLY HOPE THAT NONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT MADE THIS CALL HAVE DAUGHTERS... #DVMAS #ISTANDWITHAMBERHEARD."

There's also a photo of Amber superimposed on Whitney's mock-up -- so yeah, the Heard family is clearly not happy with the network's decision to feature JD right from the top.

As you'll recall ... Johnny's face was digitally shown inside the Moonman costume that was floating above the stage as soon as the broadcast began. He had a corny little monologue, referencing the fact that he's in need of work ... and available for just about any gig now.

Britney Spears' story is worth a lot of dough -- but she's forgoing a payday to sit down and speak her truth ... and instead, doing an impromptu YouTube dump that's 20 minutes long.

The singer posted a 22-minute clip on the video platform Sunday out of nowhere, and if you watch it -- you'll see she's spilling her guts about everything ... with specific focus on how exactly the conservatorship started and what she remembers during those many years.

BS starts out by saying that she's got a lot on her mind, and noting that while she's been offered lucrative deals for exclusive interviews -- like with Oprah, for example -- she says she finds that notion "irrelevant' and apparently thinks selling your story like that is tacky.

Instead, she's giving it straight to the people ... diving into how things started when she was spiraling in the mid-2000s. She says when the conservatorship began, she didn't understand why ... but all of a sudden, her dad was running the show and was very controlling. Britney claims he told her, "I'm Britney Spears and I'm calling the shots."

She also says a woman introduced the idea to Jamie, and that her mom helped him follow through. Britney calls it "pure abuse" and recounts being held down on a gurney as paparazzi and helicopters swarmed her pad the day she was put in a psychiatric hold.

Speaking of paps, Britney says this of her infamous episode ... "The extent of my madness was playing chase with paparazzi, which is still to this day one of the most fun things I ever did about being famous." She says she doesn't know what was so harmful about that.

She goes on to describe what it was like working under the conservatorship, and it sounds miserable. Britney says she felt like a robot who was under the direct control of her father.

Britney says that after her Vegas residency ended in 2017, a new show was in the works ... and she says that when she was rehearsing for it, she stood up for herself about a certain dance move -- saying she simply voiced her preference. After that, she says she was shipped away to a facility, under the guise of seeking treatment and worrying for her dad's health.

While there, Britney says she was heavily medicated ... this after she claims her father threatened her with a major legal battle that he thought she's apparently lose.

This was a particularly dark chapter for her, Britney says, and it's clear Britney resents her family for putting her through that -- especially her mom, whom she says turned a blind eye. Remember, photos from that specific period showed Britney appearing very out of sorts, when her then-boyfriend Sam Asghari took her out for a bit around Easter time.

Britney describes more conditions placed on her during the conservatorship ... including absolute control of what she ate, where she could be, her schedule, her company, everything.

It was around this time -- 2019/2020, when the #FreeBritney movement was in full swing -- that Britney says she finally felt confident enough to take control of her life and attempt to get out of the conservatorship. She even shouts out #FreeBritny protesters who backed her.

Britney says she believes Jamie and co. thought she'd come crawling back and get into the cycle she'd been in for years, but instead ... BS says she got a lawyer and held her ground, refusing to fall back into their clutches and actually try to retake the reins of her life.

It's a lengthy confessional, but Britney's getting into all of it here ... more than we can write to in this post. As we all know, Britney did break free from the conservatorship in the end -- and now, she's telling her story on her own terms. And we're sure it's far from over too.

Kim Kardashian is living proof a charity event doesn't have to be downer ... at least when it comes to fashion, charity can be lit!

KK hit up the 4th annual fundraiser for the charity, This is About Humanity -- TIAH. It's an org that raises awareness about parents and children separated at the U.S./Mexican border.

Kim showed up in style, and gotta say ... Kanye may be long gone in terms of a relationship with her, but his fashion influence still lingers from her head to her toes.

Tickets for the event -- held in Brentwood, CA -- were certainly within her reach -- $1k a pop. The money goes toward legal representation for immigrant families.

Naomi Judd died from a gunshot wound to the head -- confirmed by the singer's autopsy -- which also revealed she left a suicide note at the scene of her death.

The medical examiner's office in Nashville released Judd's full autopsy report Friday, shining some light on the 76-year-old's mental health struggles. The report states Judd battled anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder ... Judd was always very public about her mental health.

What's more -- the autopsy reveals she left a suicide note -- which was found near her body.

Naomi took her own life back in April, and in May, her daughter, Ashley revealed her mother had shot herself. In an interview, Ashley said, "Her brain hurt, it physically hurt and I'm tasked with an exceedingly difficult task in disclosing the matter in the way my mother chose to continue to live."

Ashley also revealed she was the one who discovered Naomi's body, saying, "It was a mixed day. I visit with my mom and pop every day when I’m home in Tennessee, so I was at the house visiting as I am every day. Mom said to me, 'Will you stay with me?' and I said, 'Of course, I will.' … I went upstairs to let her know that her good friend was there and I discovered her. I have both grief and trauma from discovering her."

Just days after their mother's death, Ashley and Wynnona paid tribute to Naomi in a tearful segment during the Country Music HOF ceremony.

Sylvester Stallone is still showing up for work, and putting on a face that seems to hide the fact his wife just pulled the trigger on ending their 25 years of marriage.

Sly surprised a bunch of excited fans Thursday at a special screening for his new movie "Samaritan" ... popping up at the AMC Empire 25 theater in New York. Some folks whipped out their cameras to snap the moment, while others clapped and greeted him with smiles.

And, despite it being a difficult time, he seemed to be in pretty good spirits. At one point he grabbed the mic and gave a guy in the audience a warm embrace.

As we reported ... his now-estranged wife Jennifer Flavin filed for divorce a week ago, and in the docs, she claims he's been moving around marital assets to hide them from her and her attorneys -- although Sly denies that.

There's been a lot of back and forth about what might have caused the divorce -- much of it centering on Sly's new Rottweiler, Dwight, which Stallone got tatted on his shoulder ... OVER Jennifer's face!

While sources connected to Sly said an argument about the dog triggered the divorce ... Sly himself tells us that wasn't it.

He says he and Jennifer "just went in different directions," and adds he was totally caught off guard by her filing divorce papers.

Interestingly, though, Jennifer was out in WeHo in early August, and wasn't wearing her wedding ring.

Gavin Rossdale took his kids on stage during his latest show for some birthday celebrations ... making longtime fans wonder where the hell the time has gone?!?

The Bush frontman brought out 14-year-old Zuma and 8-year-old Apollo at Wednesday night's show at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Chicago ... Zuma's birthday was over the weekend and Gavin wanted the entire crowd to join in the celebration.

The singer called to the wings for 16-year-old Kingston to join them, but the kid was a no-show ... but Zuma still got a huge "Happy Birthday" from the audience, and got to blow out his candles in front of everyone.

Gavin's band is currently on tour with Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin -- talk about a rockin' birthday!!!

The little kids ain't so little anymore -- as you know, Zuma, Apollo, and Kingston were the talk of the town growing up ... of course, a lot of that had to do with Gavin's marriage to Gwen Stefani.

Gwen wished her middle child a happy birthday in a sweet Instagram post over the weekend.

Vanessa Bryant is sinking the $16 million she won from L.A. County into the cause near and dear to her late husband Kobe Bryant -- she says it will all be donated to the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation.

Bryant and co-plaintiff Chris Chester won their lawsuit against L.A. County over the distribution of photos taken at the helicopter crash scene in Jan. 2020 ... with the jury awarding Vanessa the $16 mil, and $15 million to Chris.

Vanessa's attorney Luis Li tells TMZ, "From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline."

Li's statement, first posted by the L.A. Times, continues ... "Those measures are the responsibility of the sheriff’s and fire departments -- responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers. Mrs. Bryant was courageous and never faltered, even when the County attempted to force her to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination. She is deeply grateful to Ralph Mendez and Luella Weireter, the good Samaritans who brought to light the decades old practice of taking and sharing photos of accident and crime victims for no legitimate purpose."

Li says Vanessa hopes this case will help to change the "callous behavior" of the sheriff and fire departments' first responders.

She also wants the $16 mil to "shine a light on Kobe and Gigi's legacy."

As we reported, during closing arguments in the trial Chester's attorney proposed the jury should award Chris $32.5 million, but Vanessa's team did not suggest a dollar amount during their closing.