Kids

Serena Williams says she was in a "funk" during her historic loss at the Silicon Valley Classic last week -- all because postpartum emotions made her feel like a bad mom.

Williams suffered the worst loss of her pro career to 43rd ranked Johanna Konta -- going down in straight sets ... 6-1, 6-0.

Now, Serena -- who gave birth to her daughter back in August 2017 -- says postpartum emotions definitely played a role.

"Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom," Williams wrote on Instagram.

"I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal. It’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby."

She added ... "Although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes."

Honey Boo Boo has the chance to reel in some serious cash if she can survive the grueling competition on "DWTS: Juniors."

Boo Boo -- aka Alana Thompson -- got $50,000 just for signing on to do the show ... and the longer she competes, the more money she will make each episode. We've obtained a copy of her contract, and the rest of the cash breaks down like this ...

- $5,000 per episode for episodes 2 & 3.

- $7,500 per episode for episodes 4 & 5.

- $10,000 per episode for episodes 6 & 7.

- $15,000 for episode 8.

- $20,000 for the finale.

If you are bad at math -- that is $130,000 total -- or a lifetime supply of "sketti and butter."

Britney Spears doesn't subscribe to the "More Money, More Problems" theory ... or so it seems 'cause she's having a helluva time with her 2 sons in the midst of a child support battle with Kevin Federline.

The singer and her 2 sons -- Sean and Jayden -- hit up a sightseeing tour Sunday at the Lustgarten in Germany. Awesome way to enjoy a break from her concert tour. They all seemed to enjoy the sights ... under the watchful eye of security. But back in the States, not everything was coming up roses.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney's legal team squared off Friday with Kevin, who has demanded way more in child support than the $20k per month she's been forking over. He wants $60k a month ... and she's willing to go around $10k a month higher, although she says she pays for everything and all he wants is to have her support his 4 other kids.

LeBron James Jr. has picked his 8th grade destination -- he'll be attending the ultra-exclusive Crossroads School in Santa Monica, TMZ Sports has learned.

Multiple sources confirm ... 13-year-old Bronny has enrolled at Crossroads with the intention of being a student when the school year begins.

Bronny, of course, is one of the top young basketball players in the country. The assumption is that he'll join the school's middle school basketball team until he's eligible to play for the high school team next year.

FYI, Crossroads is where Shareef O'Neal played his high school ball. It's also where Baron Davis went to school back when he was a high school star.

Other famous alumni include ... Evan Spiegel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Jack Black, Maya Rudolph and Jonah Hill.

Of course, Bronny could always change his mind and go somewhere else -- but we're told, as of right now, the plan is to attend Crossroads.

Angelina Jolie is fighting Brad Pitt so hard and nasty in their divorce and child custody dispute, her lawyer is quitting her ... sources tell TMZ.

Sources familiar with the matter say Angelina has been out for blood. As one source connected to Brad tells us, they believe she wants to kill any relationship he has with his kids. We're told there has been a lot of screaming on Angie's part ... as one source said, "She's fueled with anger and has gotten ridiculously unreasonable."

Our sources say her lawyer, Laura Wasser, is going to quit and made that known to her, because it's gotten too venomous. It seems like this was not a good match, because Wasser has made a name for herself in divorce circles by promoting settlements and co-parenting.

We're told Angelina has hired another law firm to take over when Wasser officially leaves, but for now the divorce is nowhere near settling ... it's more like all-out war.

Kenan Thompson's living his best life in 2018 -- he turned 40, earned his first-ever acting Emmy nomination and now he's become a father for the second time to a baby girl. Sweet trifecta!!

The 'SNL' star's wife, Christina Evangeline, gave birth to Gianna Michelle Tuesday night in Florida. Little Gianna weighed a healthy 6 pounds, 6 ounces. The couple already has another daughter, Georgia Marie, and the two are already inseparable and obsessed with each other.

Christina posted a video on social media announcing her pregnancy only days before she was ready to give birth. TMZ broke the story ... Christina gave birth to their first child back in 2014.

Congrats!!!

5:13 PM PT -- Britney's lawyer, Laura Wasser and Kevin's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan just left the courtroom after a closed hearing. Sources say nothing substantive was decided and all hearings regarding Kevin's request for child support have been put off until a later date.

Britney Spears' legal team is about to square off with Kevin Federline's in an L.A. court, and the central issue is going to be whether Kevin needs additional child support for the 2 kids he had with Britney or whether it's because he's trying to get her to support his other 4 kids.

As TMZ first reported, Britney has been paying Kevin $20k a month in child support for years. In addition to the support checks, we're told Britney pays for the kids' tuition and related school expenses, clothing, extracurricular activities (including sports), and various other expenses. In all, she forks over around $35k a month.

Kevin's lawyer has reportedly demanded $60k a month ... which Britney and her conservator, Jamie Spears, have refused to pay. We're told Jamie is agreeable to raising child support by around $10k a month, despite the fact he believes Kevin doesn't really pay for anything related to the kids.

Friday's hearing, we're told, could get contentious because Britney wants to cut to the chase and figure out what, if anything, Kevin really needs for the kids. We're told Kevin's lawyer wants to comb through all of Britney's contracts to determine exactly how much she makes and spends.

We're told Britney's team thinks it's ridiculous Kevin's lawyer wants to go through the time-consuming and expensive exercise of figuring out what she makes because everyone knows she makes a fortune, so the only issue is how much more the kids need. Her team believes the only people who benefit from dragging this out into an expensive process are the lawyers.

No, Blake Griffin is NOT paying $258k per month in child support -- he's only paying a fraction of that ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the $258k figure that's being reported is wrong -- but sources tell us the NBA star is still cutting a significant check to Brynn Cameron, the mother of his 2 kids.

The number, we're told, is $32,000 per month ... which adds up to $384,000 per year.

It's no sweat for Blake, who recently signed a 5-year, $171 million contract.

Little Big Town keeps getting the shaft, but in the latest case ... at least the perps who jacked their stuff got a heavy dose of karma.

The acclaimed country band's trailer was stolen Tuesday night in Nashville, but instead of the thieves making off with a load of guitars, amps and expensive band equipment ... they got a bunch of children's gear.

Sources close to LBT tell us a police report was filed with Nashville Metro. The items in the band's trailer include 3 kids razor scooters, 3 bikes, a homemade lemonade stand, a unicorn kiddie pool with a unicorn sprinkler, pool toys, bubbles, chalk, kickballs, basketballs, baseball gloves and bats ... and some workout gear.

Probably not exactly what the criminals had in mind.

For the country band, the burglary news comes on the heels of another unfortunate situation. TMZ broke the story ... Little Big Town's 4 AMA trophies accidentally got sent to Lil Wayne.

Just call it a lil mix-up.

Chris Pratt isn't slow-playing the whole "meet my girlfriend" thing with his kid -- 'cause the trio was looking like a picture-perfect fam Wednesday in Malibu.

The "Jurassic World" star was with his son, Jack, and his new boo, Katherine Schwarzenegger, for a dinner date at Soho House. The good news for Chris ... Kat and Jack seem to be getting very familiar with each other.

Remember, they all just went to church together Sunday and afterward grabbed some sweet treats ... for Jack and Chris.

Can't blame Chris for moving things along at a brisk pace -- Anna's definitely done the same with her BF in the time since she and CP filed for divorce.

The filmmakers behind an upcoming comedy used makeup to darken the face of a child actor's stand-in -- a la "blackface" -- but the film's production company says it's common practice.

Sources connected to the film, "Good Boys" -- produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg -- tell TMZ ... 11-year-old Keith L. Williams' stand-in was on set last week in Vancouver, and wearing dark brown makeup on his face.

We're told the stand-in was also rocking an afro wig and fitted in a fat suit. Williams was on a break at the time, but our sources say the sight of his stand-in was upsetting to at least one person on set.

Other sources connected to the production company, Good Universe, tell us it's "not uncommon for lighting purposes to match actors' skin tones" ... and they insist this is not a blackface situation.

We've spoken to others in the industry who say their experience is, rather than using makeup, casting directors typically make a point of hiring stand-ins who match the actors' complexions.

We're told "Good Boys" producers were aware someone had filed a complaint, and they were in the process of addressing the grievance.

For the record, we're told the stand-in is a light-skinned African-American kid.

Steph Curry's 4-week-old baby is already enjoying the finer things in life -- the NBA superstar and his wife, Ayesha, brought the kid to Nobu in Malibu on Monday ... for some of the most expensive food in town!

Baby Canon W. Jack Curry was born on July 2 -- about 4 weeks before his due date -- so to celebrate his (almost) 1-month birthday, the Currys took a family field trip to the best sushi joint on the beach.

Canon is the couple's 3rd kid -- they have two daughters, Riley and Ryan. The girls didn't make the dinner date this time around.

Ex-NFL quarterback Christian Ponder and his wife, ESPN host Samantha Ponder, say their newborn is home and recovering after undergoing emergency surgery just days after she was born.

Sam -- who hosts ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" -- said their daughter, Price, "ended up in emergency surgery in the middle of the night" after a series of "terrifying and sudden events."

"We were short on time and frankly, in shock," Ponder wrote on social media.

Ponder didn't specify the details surrounding the medical emergency -- but says the surgery was a success and now Price is at home and recovering.

"Her recovery in the #NICU was nothing short of miraculous for a tiny body that had just undergone such trauma."

Austin Rivers can't imagine how hard it'll be for Bronny James to grow up as LeBron's son ... but he's offering advice, telling TMZ Sports, "Just focus on being the best him he can be."

We got Austin -- who lived in Doc's shadow his whole life -- at LAX, when we had to ask ... how is it really going to be for LBJ Jr. to grow up as a famous NBA son in the basketball world??

Rivers doesn't sugarcoat it ... saying it's going to be brutal.

But -- A.R.'s got a blueprint for Bronny to follow.

"Don't focus on trying to be LeBron James," Rivers says. "I didn't focus on trying to be Doc. I just tried to be myself."

Austin seems to think Bronny's got a huge future regardless ... dishing out praise for what he's seen from the King's kid so far -- including giving a high grade for his first-ever dunk.

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger are officially a couple -- a churchgoing one at that -- but they won't really show it until they're out of God's purview.

The recently-single Hollywood stud was spotted on another date with Arnold and Maria's 28-year-old daughter Sunday -- this time with his and Anna Faris' son, Jack, tagging along ... not to mention JC. The trio hit up a church service in L.A. and ice cream afterward.

It wasn't until Chris and Kat were out of the Lord's house that they smooched a bit ... not once, but twice! Seems like things have gone well since their Santa Barbara picnic last month.

Bruno Mars was just as shocked as everyone by the news Cardi B was backing out of touring with him to take care of her baby ... and now his opening act for his impending tour is totally up in the air.

Sources connected to Bruno's tour -- slated to kick off in Sept. -- tell us he's without an opener and, so far, there has been no replacement made for Cardi. We're told Bruno's people were burning up the phones Friday ... starting conversations with reps from a number of musicians but nothing is close to being locked down.

Our sources say Cardi's decision to back out of the tour has created some issues ... dancers were hired, costumes made and stage backdrops built.

As we reported ... Cardi backed out of her gig with Bruno because she "underestimated this whole mommy thing." She told fans she needs more time to recover and isn't ready to part with her daughter, Kulture, while she goes on the road.

Mars replied with a heartfelt message of support and understanding, adding ... "We love you Cardi and we will play Bodak Yellow every night in your honor."