Gossip / Rumors

It's happening ... it's really, really happening ... *NSYNC is reuniting on the VMA stage -- this according to the band's official Twitter.

It's kind of ironic ... Twitter didn't even exist when *NSYNC was famous -- but that didn't stop the boy band from all-but-confirming their HIGHLY anticipated MTV performance in 140 characters or less, writing, "mic check, mic check one ... two ... is this thing on?!"

The marriage of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom is in crisis, and TMZ has learned ... the core reason is hardcore drug abuse.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Lamar has had a problem for 2 years. It got so bad, last August Khloe pressured Lamar to go to rehab. Lamar went to a facility in San Diego, but he was so resistant Khloe hired private investigators to secretly stand guard at the rehab place to make sure he didn't leave. The P.I.s stood guard 24/7.

Our sources say Lamar constantly threatened to leave and Khloe made several visits to prevail upon him to stay. We're told after 3 weeks, Lamar left for good.

We're told Lamar actually stayed clean once he left rehab and was able to play well for the Clippers this past season. But when the season was over, sources say Lamar slipped deep back into hardcore recreational drugs.

As for reports that Lamar was cheating recently, we're told Khloe is convinced it happened, and she feels she's been hit with a double whammy ... but drugs are the main problem.

As for divorce ... neither Khloe nor Lamar has contacted a lawyer. As one source put it, "Khloe is more concerned about saving Lamar than ending her marriage."

We're told the situation has become dire. Sources tell us ... within the last 2 days, the entire family staged an intervention, trying to convince Lamar to go back to rehab, but he wouldn't have any of it.

In fact, on Wednesday morning, right after the failed intervention, Khloe threw Lamar out of the house and as you see from the pic (above), one of Lamar's friends is loading Lamar's stuff in his car as Lamar watches.

Another brilliant move by Chris Brown -- the singer has affiliated himself with a dangerous street gang in L.A. called the Pirus (a subset of the Bloods) ... and he's bragging about it all the way to Hawaii.

Sources tell TMZ, Brown was in Honolulu Thursday, where he hired a guide to take him and his entourage around to places where they could legally spray paint.

Keeping it "legal" was responsible, but then Brown tagged up his signature monster artwork with the phrase "Fruits Piru," an apparent reference to the Fruit Town Piru gang ... next to the phrase, "F*** police."

Brown's even been claiming Piru on Twitter. He's gotten so cocky, he called out Jay Z for not letting Beyonce collaborate with him, and bragging he's not worried about Mr. Z because he's got Blood ties.

Strange ... just last year Chris tweeted, "I'm no gangbanger! where im from we say cuz,blood, folk, woadie, homie, patna, its slang and ebonics! US KIDS USE THESE TERMS."

For the record, Brown's not doing anything illegal by giving a shoutout to a violent gang -- it doesn't even violate his probation. It's just not smart for someone with his record. Really not smart.

But at least it helps explain Chris' red outfits and cars ...

Dean "The Dream" Meminger -- who helped the NY Knicks clinch the 1973 NBA title -- was found dead in his hotel room Friday ... wearing his championship ring.

Meminger was found unconscious inside his NYC hotel room by staff members after failing to check out. He was pronounced dead on the scene. There were no signs of trauma. A witness reportedly saw "white stuff" oozing out of his nose.

Meminger had long suffered from drug addiction, including cocaine, even in his pro-basketball days. He almost died in a rooming house fire where he was allegedly smoking crack back in 2009.

The 65-year-old was a first round draft pick back in 1971.

12:25 PM PT -- A rep for T.I. tells TMZ, the incident did NOT occur on T.I.'s bus ... in fact, the rapper was not even aware of the incident. Which leaves two other possibilities.

More drama for the Lil Wayne/2 Chainz/T.I. tour buses -- law enforcement sources tell TMZ, a female fan says she was invited on board one of the vehicles after the show in OKC this week ... and an entourage member punched her in the face, breaking her jaw.

The alleged attacker isn't named in the police report -- but the victim says her jaw was broken in two places ... and the damage is so bad she required surgery to repair it, and her jaw is now wired shut for six weeks while it heals. The victim says she'll be on a liquid diet for the entire time.

Here's the story ... the victim told police, the unidentified entourage member had been hitting on her during the concert ... and invited her on board one of the rappers' buses after the show.

The victim says she took the guy up on his offer -- but when she showed up with her girlfriend, he stuck his hand down her shirt and grabbed her breast.

The victim says she slapped his hand away and he turned around and punched her in the jaw, sending her flying out of the bus door. She says she landed on her back on the pavement with blood pouring out of her mouth.

According to the police report, the entourage member ran off, and the victim was taken to the hospital.

A rep for the Oklahoma City PD tells TMZ, the incident is under investigation. So far, no arrests have been made.

It's a battle of the most-hated Batmans!

Here's the newly-named caped crusader Ben Affleck (41) with his best Bruce Wayne inspired tuxedo (left) -- and the previously titled worst-winged avenger George Clooney (52) in the same penguin suit (right).

Joey Fatone has arrived to New York ... where he's rumored to reunite with *NSYNC at the MTV VMAs this weekend ... but when we asked him about it, he seemed to be LYING like a rug.

Don't get us wrong ... he totally denied being in NYC for the alleged performance. But c'mon Joey ...

Now we're no Columbo ... but we think we know when someone's playing games with our heart (wrong band, but you get the idea).

So, we gotta ask ...

Authorities are suspicious of the cause of Lisa Robin Kelly's death and both the L.A. County Coroner and the L.A. County Sheriff are conducting separate investigations ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the L.A. County Coroner never got a call from the rehab facility where Kelly died. A doctor at the rehab facility pronounced Kelly dead at 8:07 AM Thursday, but we're told the Coroner didn't find out until noon, when an official from the office saw the post on TMZ.

But we're told what really made authorities suspicious ... the rehab doctor told the Coroner Kelly died from an embolism. Our sources say the Coroner scoffed at the doctor's conclusion, because there's no way to know if someone died of an embolism without performing an autopsy. In other words, you can't tell by looking at a dead body.

Our sources say the doctor at the facility told the Coroner Kelly was taking detox drugs, but the toxicology report isn't in so it's unclear if the drugs played a part in her death.

As for the embolism -- the Coroner still has not made a determination. But they ARE suspicious. And, we're told, the Sheriff has issued a security hold on the case, meaning no information can be released while the case is being investigated.

Romeo's idea of the perfect 24th birthday gift involves Justin Bieber's on-again/off-again gf Selena Gomez!

What bro code??!!

Simon Cowell is finally coming to terms with fatherhood ... saying he feels "good" about the fetus growing inside Lauren Silverman ... and adding, "I'm proud to be a dad."

Cowell made the comments to BBC -- the first time he's really addressed the runaway sperm that knocked up the New York socialite.

"Things are changing in my life for the better," Simon said ... adding, "[Silverman] is a very special girl."

The 53-year-old gazillionaire says he's changed his outlook on parenthood in the past few months and insinuated that he wasn't always so keen on the idea ... explaining, "Now I know I feel good about it."

So far, no word on when the baby is due.

Police are looking for a total of three suspects in the Alex Band abduction case -- including one REAL sorry son of a bitch -- and TMZ has obtained the alleged attackers' descriptions.

Law enforcement in Lapeer, MI -- where Band claims he was violently abducted in a van and robbed Sunday morning -- have released the following details:

Suspect #1 -- white male armed with a gun, wearing a backwards camo cap, approximately 30 years of age, scruffy beard

Suspect #2 -- white male, approximately 6'4", "very polite and apologetic"

Suspect #3 (the driver) -- male darker complexion

Cops say Alex described the van he was abducted in as a blue minivan.

Cops in Lapeer, Michigan have already collected surveillance footage from the area where "The Calling" singer Alex Band was allegedly attacked this week ... and are combing through the video looking for an image of the abductors, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... the police BELIEVE Alex's story -- and are treating the situation as an abduction and robbery.

TMZ broke the story ... Alex claims he was snatched off the street around 3AM Sunday morning by unknown assailants who beat the crap out of him before dumping him on some train tracks.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... investigators are planning to release a description of the suspects later today.

Stay tuned ...

The Calling singer Alex Band has released photos of the injuries he allegedly sustained during a violent abduction Sunday morning in Michigan ... but let's be honest ... they don't paint a picture of a "near-death" encounter.

Alex's publicist tells TMZ ... the singer suffered a fractured lower spine, 15 stitches to the lower chin, 3 broken teeth and is bruised on his side and stomach from a beating that occurred after Band was snatched off a Lapeer, Michigan street by mysterious people in a van.

According to the rep, the only reason Alex escaped with his life is because his captors took mercy on him for having a baby on the way. The rep says Alex told them, "Don't kill me as I am about to be a dad," and the captors responded, "We don't kill fathers." It's like something out of a bad movie.

As we first reported, police are investigating the incident ... but we've tried multiple times to get someone from the PD on the phone and they're stonewalling it.

TMZ has obtained the 911 call made by "The Calling" singer Alex Band's manager after the singer was found bloodied and beaten on the side of the road in Lapeer, MI early Sunday morning.

During the call, Band's manager is calm but reports that Alex was abducted and kidnapped by unknown assailants.

When asked how he knew Band was abducted, the manager replied, "Because he's bleeding all over the place and I found him on the side of the road." The manager told the operator Band was breathing and conscious.

8:02 AM PT: Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the reason cops searched the bags is because they received an anonymous tip someone in Justin's party had drugs in their luggage. Justin's bags, along with the bags of his entourage, were searched. Cops found nothing.

Justin Bieber's reputation apparently precedes him ... a drug-sniffing dog rooted through his posse's luggage at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.

Justin was busy posing with fans as the police pooch did his thing. As far as we can see, the dog turned up nothing and everyone made their flight ... eventually.

The Biebs was in Miami over the weekend, partying with Lil Jay Z and Lil Kevin Hart.

Melanie Griffith brought a very interesting date to the premiere of her movie "Dark Tourist" this week -- her ex-husband Steven Bauer ... a guy she's BARELY been seen in public with since they divorced more than 20 years ago, TMZ has learned.

Griffith and Bauer (who famously starred in "Scarface" back in 1983) were all over each other on the red carpet ... which raised eyebrows considering Melanie's current husband, Antonio Banderas, was no where to be found.

According to our crack research team, the last time M & S were photographed on a red carpet together was back 1985 ... back when Ronald Reagan was President.

There have been rumors that Melanie and Antonio have been going through a rough patch ... which makes her decision to walk her ex down the red carpet even more curious.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... despite divorcing in 1987, Melanie and Steven have remained close over the years and have worked together to co-parent their son Alexander Bauer, who also attended the premiere.

We reached out to Melanie's people -- but didn't hear anything back.