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Country music icon Hank Williams Jr.'s late wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died from a collapsed lung -- and it happened just one day after she'd gone under the knife.

Mary Jane's death is being classified as an accident according to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner, who says she suffered the fatal injury during a cosmetic procedure.

The Medical Examiner says Mary Jane underwent liposuction on her back, arms and stomach, and had her breast implants removed during the March 21 surgery.

The M.E. says she suddenly became unresponsive the following day, and she died.

TMZ broke the story ... Hank's wife of over 30 years died March 22 in Jupiter, FL, and a family member said the early indication was she'd suffered a complication from surgery.

That initial theory seems to be at least close to the truth. Mary Jane's plastic surgeon, Dr. Harold Bafitis, told the ME he was about to see her for a follow-up visit in her hotel room when she suddenly became unresponsive while sitting up in bed.

Britney Spears is officially back in the studio, joining forces with Elton John for a remake of one of his greatest hits ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... the two artists linked up on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week to record a new rendition of EJ's "Tiny Dancer."

We're told the song is currently still being mixed. Page Six, which broke the story, reports Britney and Elton actually met up in person at a Beverly Hills studio to cut the song -- and that it's due out through Universal Music in August. Andrew Watt is said to be the overseeing producer. We're told it will be released within a month.

Of course, this is huge news ... as it would mark Britney's official comeback to the music industry -- this after being released from the conservatorship and regaining her freedom.

BS has signaled she wants to get back to work, but has also been taking her time readjusting to a normal life ... and also getting married, among other life adventures. As fans of hers know, Britney still very much has song and dance running through her veins.

She constantly records herself at her home doing new choreography and routines -- and recently, we've heard her clear out her pipes with an oldie-but-goodie song of her own.

Britney Spears says she begged her family for help while in a mental health facility, but got no response ... a claim her mom, Lynne, is now shooting down with hope they can reconcile.

Britney got on Instagram Sunday to share text screenshots she sent to her friend, lawyer, and mom during her time in the facility ... with a caption that read "It's a little different with proof."

She claims she got "no response" from everyone, even after telling Lynne she thought they were trying to kill her. However, Lynne posted screenshots of her own Monday showing the same convo and her responses she sent Britney.

Lynne says she has the "full conversations," too ... possibly alluding to her side of the texts that might've been left out as well. She captions the post, "I hurt for you that you feel the people who love you the most betrayed you! Let me come to you! I love you!"

As we reported, Britney also posted and deleted a picture of her sister Jamie Lynn with their dad, Jamie ... claiming the two were having meetings while the rest of the world was dealing with COVID.

Britney Spears claims her sister Jamie Lynn was having meetings with their dad during COVID while the rest of the world was on lockdown ... but we're told that's not the case at all.

Sources close to Jamie Lynn tell TMZ she wasn't parading around with her dad in 2020 -- instead, she was stuck at home like everyone else, and believes Britney got her story completely wrong ...  saying the proof is clear as day.

Britney posted a photo Sunday of Jamie Lynn and Jamie as supposed evidence of their pandemic meetings, along with a lengthy caption ... but we're told the pic in question was in 2019, before the lockdown.

At the time of the photo, JL was just getting back into work after having her second daughter, Ivey, the year before ... she had intro meetings with a few streaming services and Jamie dropped her off on the way to the airport.

We're told he didn't attend the meeting with her, and the picture was taken when she was staying in Britney's guest room during the trip ... which is why Jamie Lynn's confused as to how her big sis forgot that.

As a result, we're told JL wishes Britney would leave her out of future posts -- believing this is just a blatant lie to make her look bad. BTW, Brit has since taken down the entire post.

Liam Payne's gonna hate this clip -- at least one part of it -- because the never-before-seen footage shows Simon Cowell taking a slight dig at the young singer while forming One Direction.

ITV dropped the un-aired video from back in 2010 ... it's the moment 'X Factor' judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh picked the lineup of singers for the group that would become One Direction.

ICYMI, last month, Liam upset some folks by claiming 1D was formed around him -- he said the judges started with him before adding in the other singers ... Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.

Liam made the claim on Logan Paul's Podcast saying, Simon "started with my face, and then worked around the rest. I was the honorary member of One Direction. He told me that story himself at his house"

Well, the new footage doesn't exactly bear that out -- Simon did say Liam had a great audition. However, he snidely added, "He thinks he's better than anyone else in that list."

To Liam's credit ... Simon was clearly impressed, but seemed to think he was a bit cocky.

Everybody seems to want a piece of Machine Gun Kelly these days, and unfortunately for him ... one fan took that concept literally, and much too far with a handsy display.

The singer was performing Thursday at the Moda Center in Portland, OR -- as part of his Mainstream Sellout tour -- and at one point in the show ... he went up into the seats with audience members, getting up right near some of them -- including this overzealous guy.

Watch ... in video obtained by TMZ, you see this gent wrap his hand around MGK while he's standing right next to his legs, seemingly trying to get a selfie with the star.

He should've just stopped there and let Kelly break away -- which he was clearly trying to do -- but this concertgoer apparently wasn't done having his fun. Instead, he grabs on tighter to MGK, wrapping his arm around the rest of his waist and reaching to the frontal area.

Indeed, the dude got a handful of Kelly's junk and held on tight -- that is, until his hand was stripped away by MGK himself ... and being pushed back by somebody else, maybe security.

Rage Against the Machine has bodyguards that actually may be TOO on the ball, because an eagle-eyed hired muscle tackled a fan who rushed the stage and one of the band members got nailed as well.

It all went down Saturday night in Toronto, when Rage was playing its final song -- "Killing in the Name" -- and a fan (in a red shirt) sprinted toward the front of the stage, only to be blocked by security and hurled off into the crowd.

Thing is ... guitarist Tom Morello was collateral damage. Security made contact with him, knocking him to the ground close enough to the lip of the stage that he fell off.

It was a tense moment, as everyone waited to see if Tom was ok ... after a dramatic pause, he got up and waved to the crowd, which roared its approval!

Fact is ... security did its job and did it well. It happened really fast, so there was no time for precision. It's kind of funny ... Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, Dave Chappelle clowned his security at the Hollywood Bowl when he was tackled, saying they musta been wearing street shoes.

Kid Rock canceled his concert Friday night in North Dakota due to bad weather ... triggering an angry backlash from fans who trashed the venue.

KR was supposed to take the stage around 9:30 PM at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot ... following a 2 1/2 hour performance by his opening act, Night Ranger.

We're told a storm was brewing on the outskirts of town with some wind and lightning, but no rain, which kept delaying KR's show.

By the time 11 o'clock rolled around, lots of folks in the 18,000-strong audience were pretty drunk ... and pissed because it seemed as if the storm had passed.

An officer from the Ward County Sheriff's Department then walked up to the mic and announced the concert was canceled.

The crowd went berserk and turned the place upside down, throwing beer cans at the stage.

One guy climbed onto the stage and took a threatening stance before security tackled him.

Another man was handcuffed and led away by the police.

Ricky Martin made his first public appearance since winning a big court victory against his nephew ... at the Hollywood Bowl no less.

Ricky took the stage to a packed house and obliquely addressed the drama, asking the crowd, "Are you really having a good time? All I want is for you to forget all your issues tonight and just focus on love and light and let's just have a good time. Are you ready Los Angeles to have a good time?"

Ricky, who performed with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra, never directly addressed his nephew's accusations or the court hearing.

TMZ broke the story ... Ricky's nephew withdrew his restraining order petition, and although Ricky was present for Friday's hearing on Zoom, he never spoke ... he didn't have to. As you know, his 21-year-old nephew claimed he had a 7-month sexual relationship with Ricky, after which he says the singer stalked and harassed him. Ricky adamantly denied there was ever any relationship and his lawyers said the nephew suffered from serious mental issues.

After the nephew withdrew his claim and the judge dismissed the case, Ricky's legal team told TMZ, "Just as we had anticipated, the temporary protection order was not extended by the court. The accuser confirmed to the court that his decision to dismiss the matter was his alone, without any outside influence or pressure."

Ricky appeared on a video in which he talked about the pain this caused him and his family.

Kim Burrell, the gospel singer who came under fire for insensitive comments made in church, will NOT step down -- she'll be ministering again after deep introspection and counsel from her pastor.

Kim and Pastor Dr. Mike Freeman of Spirit of Faith Christian Center in Maryland, tell TMZ ... the backlash won't silence her, because she believes speaking to the congregation is her calling from God.

Rest assured, though, Kim knows she crossed a line last weekend ... and says Pastor Freeman, and others, will make sure she doesn't have a repeat performance.

ICYMI, Kim went viral for last weekend's sermon where she referred to people as "broke" and "ugly," among other tasteless labels. Kim says the remarks were made in "jest," but most folks on social media didn't buy that -- even after she put out a written apology.

Pastor Freeman explained why he's standing by Kim, telling us ... "We don't shoot the soldier we nurse them."

He insists church members want to surround the singer with love, instead of knocking her while she's down.

Since her gaffe in the pulpit, Kim has posted a remorseful video, saying she just wants folks to see her heart.

Chapel Hart has been getting nothing but support from the Country music community after they snagged a golden buzzer on "America's Got Talent" ... and they're already lined up to be on Darius Rucker's next album.

We spoke with bandmates Trea Swindle, Danica Hart, and Devynn Hart and they told us they recorded a song with Darius before their audition aired this week and recently got the good news that it's making it onto his latest album.

They admit they thought they were in the middle of some catfish scenario when Darius first reached out on Twitter ... before learning the DM was the real deal.

For those unaware, Chapel Hart blew the 'AGT' judges away with their original piece, "You Can Have Him Jolene" -- a nod to Dolly Parton's famous song.

They received a golden buzzer even though all 5 had been given out -- a first for the show.

Ever since their big moment, the group's seen support from legends like Loretta Lynn, and even Dolly herself -- who called their performance a "fun new take on my song."

The Cult lead singer Ian Astbury took a take-no-prisoners approach during his performance Tuesday night ... jumping into the crowd to break up a scuffle, then calling out the aggressor on stage.

Ian was belting out the song, "Rain," at The Anthem in Washington D.C. when fireworks erupted. Apparently, a tall guy in the front was blocking the view of the guy behind him, and the 2 got into it. Based on what Ian says the tall guy put the other fan in a chokehold.

You see in the video, obtained by TMZ, Ian comes down from the stage and breaks it up, then hugs the guy who was put in the chokehold.

Ian jumps back onstage and finishes the song, but he's not done with the tall guy.

Ian goes on a tirade, talking about how he was once knocked out by a member of the Hells Angels. He then warns the tall dude he's skating on thin ice. The other guy apparently left.

Justin Bieber's going back on the road again after hitting the pause button on performing -- which seems to signal he's all better after a serious health scare.

The singer announced Tuesday the Justice World Tour will fire back up at the end of July, with his first show set to take place at the Lucca Festival in Italy on the 31st. From there, he'll traverse the globe for the rest of his stops, picking up where he left off.

Among the countries/regions JB's expected to hit first ... South America, South Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and then circling back to Europe.

His team says Justin will make his way back to the States eventually, with dates forthcoming for concerts he'd postponed. Of course, this is good news for his fans -- the guy's been taking time off the past month and change amid a health scare that came out of nowhere.

The disease he was battling was called Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which was virus-driven ... and caused facial paralysis, among other issues. Justin said he'd need time to recover.

Sometimes guests on the TMZ Celebrity Tour get not one, but TWO extra special surprises --just ask the folks who had run-ins with Jamie Foxx and Lizzo!

First, it was Lizzo outside The Hollywood Roosevelt -- she just dropped her album "Special" last week -- and likely has a ton of promos to get done, but she still took a little time to chat it up with bus passengers ... even spilling on her favorite song from the album.

Then it was Jamie Foxx, who bus passengers spotted outside Avra in Beverly Hills.

The Oscar winner seemed to be catching up with a friend outside the celeb hot spot and gave our bus a friendly wave before joking he was going to hop on board.

Nolan Neal, a contestant on both "America's Got Talent" and "The Voice," has died.

Nolan passed away Monday according to the medical examiner ... Nolan's cousin Dylan Seals tells TMZ he was found dead in his apartment in Nashville.

No official cause of death has been determined, but the singer has talked openly about his struggles with substance abuse. During an interview with WBIR in 2020, he admitted that he was still struggling with addiction while he was competing on "The Voice."

Dylan tells us Nolan lived with him for 4 months prior to the pandemic ... when Nolan was clean, jamming out and making music with him.

Nolan was featured on season 15 of "AGT" ... making it all the way to the quarterfinals where he performed an emotional original piece, "Send Me a Butterfly."

During his audition for the show, he sang a song called "Lost," which he said was the first thing he wrote after getting clean. The performance got a standing ovation from the crowd and all 4 judges.

Nolan also blew everyone away on season 10 of "The Voice," getting picked to be on Adam Levine's team, and making it to the knockout round before he was eliminated.

A Nolan Neal fan page posted Tuesday morning about his death, saying, "I can't believe you're gone from us" ... the caption ends with "Heaven just got a new music director."

Nolan was 41.

RIP

Johnny Depp seemingly had a new female companion in his life, which is true ... but there's nothing romantic about their relationship, TMZ has learned.

Depp, unsurprisingly, made headlines over the weekend when he was spotted in Italy accompanied by the redhead. Johnny was in town for the Umbria Jazz Festival -- where he played with Jeff Beck -- and fans speculated the woman might be Depp's new girlfriend.

However, it's just not the case ... we've spoken to sources who tell us the woman is working on Depp's upcoming movie "Jeanne du Barry" as a French teacher.

Makes a lot of sense to bring your teacher on the road if you're Johnny, and live a lifestyle of constant travel and performance.

The movie will mark Depp's first in 3 years, he's playing Louis XV in the project, which centers around the life of Jeanne Bécu, Louis' mistress when he died.