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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says a past trauma -- as a sexual assault victim -- is compounding her current trauma from a near-death experience during the Capitol insurrection.

AOC choked up Monday evening as she said, "I'm a survivor of sexual assault, and I haven't told many people that in my life." She only made the revelation to provide context for what she's clearly going through now.

The Congresswoman talked about the cumulative effect of multiple traumas  ... and how it gets more difficult to recover after each event. She was clearly referring to the events of Jan. 6 as a trigger for her PTSD.

She took a pointed jab at Republicans, and others, who suggest it's best to "move on" or forget Jan. 6 -- accusing them of using the same tactics abusers use on their victims.

As we reported ... AOC had previously said she felt like she "was going to die" during the Capitol evacuation in a "very specific way." Monday night, she provided much more detail ... describing the moment she was hiding behind a door and heard someone enter the room, repeatedly yelling, "Where is she?!?"

She also said she was already on edge on Jan. 6, because she'd gotten numerous text messages from colleagues that week warning they'd heard something might happen -- in general, at the Capitol, and specifically to her.

AOC was online for more than 90 minutes as she poured out everything she's been feeling about that day, including a scary moment with a Capitol police officer.

Big tech is in the hot seat like never before -- and one company that deserves a chair in the front row is Instagram ... so says Lindsey Pelas, who accuses them of discriminating against women.

We talked to the mega social media influencer, model and actress -- who makes much of her living online these days -- and she tells us IG appears to have it out for females ... but goes easier on men, especially as it pertains to their bodies, and what they're allowed to post.

Check it out ... Lindsey explains this is all about censorship -- another hot button issue lately -- and claims IG's policies are unfair toward women in how much skin they can show on the platform, whereas Insta is allegedly way more lenient on guys baring it all. Lindsey likens it to digital cherry-picking ... which she says often ends with fellas being able to run wild.

There's another level here too ... erections and vaginas. Listen to Lindsey -- she says there's a disparity on what products are allowed and aren't on IG.

Anyway, back to her main point, which is this -- the power these big tech companies have at their fingertips got put on full display this week with the drama from Robinhood. Funny enough, LP says that saga ain't too different from what's going on in the camera app.

Manchester United officials are sick after 2 of its players were racially abused following a loss Wednesday ... and now, the team is urging social media platforms to find and ban the "mindless idiots" who spewed the vile comments.

Following Man U's 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United ... Black players Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe faced some heinous, racist remarks and emojis on their social media pages.

In fact, the outpouring of sewage got so overwhelming, Tuanzebe reportedly deleted his entire Twitter page.

A short time later, Man U officials dropped a scathing statement ... ripping people for the racist attacks -- and demanding it all stop ASAP.

"Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night’s game," the team said.

“We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also."

Team officials continued, "Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour."

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire, meanwhile, took to his social media page to defend his teammates as well, writing, "UNITED against racism. We will not tolerate it."

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler are telegraphing things are copacetic with them, and maybe even more than copacetic ... and they're suggesting their divorce has somehow been mischaracterized.

Kristin and Jay each posted this pic of the 2 of them hanging out together, with the caption, "The world is full of users. 10 years. Can't break that."

There's a lot that's unclear here. Are they back together? Are they just saying they're still a family and will happily co-parent? And, who exactly are the "users."

It seems the "users" comment is directed at the media/social media, which characterized the divorce as contentious. If that's the case, it's a little bizarre.

As we reported, Jay filed for divorce back in April after 7 years of marriage. He asked for joint custody, but when Kristin filed her answer, the bitterness was apparent. She alleged "misconduct" on Jay's part. Her answer read, Jay "is guilty of such inappropriate marital conduct as renders further cohabitation unsafe and improper."

Kristin then insinuated Jay had accused her of "inappropriate marital conduct." Her lawyer wrote, "any misconduct alleged or implied against her in the complaint for divorce was in response to and/or as a result of misconduct on behalf of the Husband." That's weird, because Jay never mentioned misconduct on Kristin's part in his divorce petition.

Kristin had initially asked for sole physical custody of their 3 kids and only wanted Jay to have visitation.

Fast forward to September, when Kristin said there was NO scandal regarding Jay, saying it was simply a case where the marriage "just didn't work out."

It did seem like they were getting over the anger, because they agreed in September to joint custody and seemed to lower the temp.

Kristin had been linked to comedian Jeff Dye since October, but their latest post now suggests ... well, actually, we're not sure.

Bill Belichick's girlfriend, Linda Holliday, has taken her Instagram account private after being ripped by "trolls" over her recent comments about Tom Brady.

Seriously.

Here's the deal ... Linda took on a critic on social media following Tom's playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints over the weekend -- minimizing TB12's role in the win.

"Tom didn’t score last night … not once! Defense won that game," Linda said to an IG commenter ... "Were you even watching?"

She added, "[On the other hand] - I’m happy for Tom’s career. Why cant you be?"

Sure, the Tampa Bay defense was solid during the Bucs' 30 to 20 win over the Saints -- but Tom threw for 2 TDs and rushed for 1 ... so yeah, she was a little off there when it came to the stats.

Linda tried to explain herself further ... "I simply meant he scored with the help of his defense. Why all the fuss people?!? Stop the nonsense! Can we all just stop and be happy for Tom for a minute instead of beating me up?!?"

Linda's plea evidently fell on deaf ears ... because she eventually decided too shut down her page after the online hate continued.

"My account will be going private in the next few hours," Linda announced ... I am exhausted by the number of trolls and cruel people who have hammered my social media accounts recently."

"I'm not 'embarrassed' by anything that I've said. In fact, several news outlets understood what I meant about defensive TD's and validated it. BUT, I am tired of trolls!! I'm not sure when it became ok to verbally abuse and harass people on social media. I look forward to staying connected with my personal friends."

Kylie and Kendall Jenner are living like queens south of the border ... soaking up the sun in a castle by the sea.

The billionaire and her model sister are treating themselves to a Mexican getaway, shacking up in the super luxurious Ocean Castle Sol de Oriente in Costa Careyes ... and ya gotta see their digs.

The 6-bedroom villa sits atop the Peninsula de las Estrellas -- that's Spanish for stars -- and it's surrounded by a 360-degree infinity pool offering panoramic views of the ocean and beach.

The private estate goes for $6,500 a night and has room for 12 ... but this girls' trip is reserved for Kylie, Kendall and Stassie Karanikolaou.

The fortress is very camera-friendly too ... Kylie, Kendall and Stassie all have been posting tons of pics out by the pool, from sunrise to sunset.

Amanda Bynes is now in the rap game ... or so it seems, after she dropped a snippet of her new track.

The "She's the Man" star posted a new track on Instagram dubbed "Diamonds" ... in which she raps for around 12 seconds --- "Diamonds, Diamonds on my neck, on my wrist" and so on. The track is only the second thing she's posted to her 505k followers on Instagram.

She's also got a rapper by the name of Precise on the track. It's unclear when Amanda recorded the track or how serious she is about getting into the rap game, but back in June she rapped along to A$AP Rocky's "A$AP Forever."

With 25,000 National Guard members set to protect D.C. for Joe Biden's inauguration, each member has been subject to a heavy vetting, which includes high-tech facial recognition.

Federal law enforcement sources tell us ... FBI vetting -- which is normal for high-security events -- begins by checking social media accounts, looking for connections to extremist groups.

Along with reviewing posts, comments and photos ... we're told the feds are using facial recognition software to track the activities of guardsmen and women, specifically searching for photos or videos tying them to radical activities.

Our sources say all 21,000+ National Guard members currently in D.C. -- who have come in from all 50 states -- have been scrutinized by facial recognition and other high-tech methods to determine if they had any involvement -- direct or indirect -- in the Capitol riots.

As for how that works ... all Guard members were required to take a photo when they showed up in D.C. for duty. We're told that photo is then cross-referenced with security camera footage along with online content to make sure there's no connection to extremist, far-right or fringe groups.

Along with the high-tech vetting tricks, our sources say the more common criminal background checks are also conducted ... in order to pick up on any red flags such as arrests or police report mentions.

When it's all said and done ... the FBI's goal is obviously to weed out anyone who might not have national security as their top priority while serving with the National Guard.

This is 57 for Michelle Obama, who's reflecting on a challenging year, and sending a motivational message to everyone going through the same -- hang in there.

The former First Lady celebrated her birthday Sunday, and thanked her millions of followers for their "lovely birthday wishes" ... while sharing a pensive black-and-white photo of herself.

Michelle added ... "I know this past year has been difficult for us all on so many levels, so I just hope you all are taking care of yourselves and finding joy in the smallest moments."

Her hubby, former Prez Barack, also gave her a bday shout-out ... accompanied by a throwback pic. He captioned it, "Happy birthday to my love, my partner, and my best friend. Every moment with you is a blessing. Love you, Miche."

Of course, a lot of the difficulty Michelle alludes to in her bday message involves the hot-button issues of 2020 that have continued on in the new year -- the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, social justice and protests ... and the contentious election.

Dr. Dre is back home, and back to doing what he does best in the wake of being released from the hospital ... making music, and looking healthy doing it.

Five-time, Grammy-winning producer Focus posted a photo Saturday of him, Dre and a bunch of other creatives hanging out in what appears to be a recording studio. Dre is front and center, giving a slight smirk, and everyone around him seems to be in high spirits too.

Focus writes, "𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱!!! We Working... I TOOK THE PIC SO IM HERE!!!" That seems to confirm what we've been hearing about Dre's condition -- that he's recovering nicely, and seems to be out of the woods, as far as immediate danger.

Ice-T said as much himself, taking to Twitter on Friday to let his followers know he'd Facetimed with Dre, and that the guy was back home, "safe" and "looking good."

As we reported, Dre was released Friday ... this after nearly a week in the ICU. Doctors had kept him there out of an abundance of caution following his brain aneurysm, in case he suffered another health scare that required immediate medical attention.

As the anniversary of Kobe and Gianna Bryant's deaths approaches, Vanessa's sharing her daily battle to cope with such heartbreaking loss ... and offering some advice.

Vanessa says ... "Grief is a messed up cluster of emotions. One day you're in the moment laughing and the next day you don't feel like being alive."

She then speaks directly to people who understand her pain, adding ... "Find your reason to live. I know it's hard. I look at my daughters and I try to push through that feeling for them."

As you know ... Vanessa's husband and 13-year-old daughter were both killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 along with 7 others, including the pilot.

From time to time, Vanessa's shared her efforts to pick up the pieces and care for her and Kobe's 3 other girls ... but she's never spoken this openly about her struggle with grief.

Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey are throwing their hats in the Hollywood power couple ring ... after going Instagram official with their coordinated, Hallmark-y posts.

MBJ and Steve Harvey's daughter each made calculated moves and posted pictures of each other Sunday in close embraces. Michael's post included a gallery of 3 pics ... while Lori went with a single shot of her smiling while Michael kisses her cheek.

Michael didn't caption his while Lori's simply included a heart ... about as official as it gets, but of course, we've all known.

Their hook-up first went public when they arrived together in Atlanta ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.

There have been other public hangouts since then ... so, the IG posts were hardly a revelation. It's more like a public commitment on their part.

President Trump might have to resort to opening a MySpace account to be "online" -- because the guy can't get bandwidth anywhere else right now ... not even on Shopify.

DT has been banned from a handful of social media apps and social networking websites well beyond Twitter and Facebook/Instagram -- which booted him earlier this week after they say he used their platforms to incite a violent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

Since then ... even more companies have taken steps to keep their pages Trump-free, including some you never thought the Prez might use, be it posting or consuming.

Among those that've blocked/restricted Trump and/or Trump content -- Pinterest (for #StoptheSteal items), Shopify (for MAGA and other related merch), Twitch (no more Trump live streams), Snapchat (gone is Trump's account), Reddit (the r/The_Donald thread is dead) and even TikTok (which Trump was trying to ban himself, ironically enough).

Remember, Twitter pulled the plug permanently on Trump's Twitter account -- his go-to platform the past several years -- citing further potential calls to violence, directly or indirectly ... this after Trump's 12-hour suspension expired, and he tweeted to his "patriots" yet again.

Twitter's move to boot him for good also came after Facebook/Instagram did something similar ... suspending his account indefinitely, at least until Biden's inauguration is done.

There is one place Trump could possibly turn to in order to get his voice on the Internet again -- Parler (a social networking site/app that caters to the extreme right) is still open for business ... but it too is at risk of getting blacklisted on mainstream app stores.

Google already nixed it entirely -- meaning you can't download it anymore if you're an Android user -- but Apple hasn't done so yet. On Friday, they gave Parler a 24-hour deadline to provide stricter guidelines about regulating posts ... but, it's still available as of now.

Kim Kardashian's son must have known 2020 was the year of self-haircuts, because he got one in just in the nick of time ... and his Mom wasn't too mad about it.

Kim and Kanye's 5-year-old, Saint West, took a pair of childs' safety scissors to his signature curly locks ... chopping off a good portion from right in the middle of his parting line.

Kim shared photos of the aftermath on her Instagram Story on New Year's Eve -- including the kids' shears that did the job -- adding that her boy "Still looks cute tho."

Justin Hartley is ringing in the new year by unveiling his new romance.

The "This is Us" star just posted a pic of him celebrating New Year's Eve with Sofia Pernas in their "quarantine den." You can see from the pics ... Justin has clearly moved on.

Justin posted, "Last minutes of 2020 here in LA. Bring on 2021! Happy New Year!" They dressed up for the pic, despite it being shot in a kitchen.

They've been dating for a while, and dropping clues along the way. Sofia posted a pic of a dude leaning on a countertop, cigar and drink in hand, with the caption "Easy like Sunday mornin." He responded with a pic of himself poolside with a dog with a similar caption, "Paisley like Sunday mornin."

The 2 have history ... both were on "The Young and the Restless," along with his estranged wife Chrishell Stause.

As we reported, Justin filed for divorce last year ... a move that stunned Chrishell. She said she had no warning, although she later said he'd threatened to leave many times before.

Mariah Carey struggled at the end of 2020 with the same thing millions of Americans have struggled with ... the words to "Auld Lang Syne."

Mariah sang the song that makes no sense, but it wasn't easy ... not by a long shot. Despite her fumbling for the lyrics, her voice is on point.

Mariah dropped the bars just before midnight and posted it on social media. Ever the perfectionist, she didn't care the song was not flawless, but it was still light years better than what any of us could do.

Mariah ended her message with a universal ask ... "Let's hope for better, better days in 2021 and beyond."

Mariah spent part of New Year's Eve with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper, both of whom had taken a number of shots (as in alcohol) before yakking it up with her.