TMZ.com

Kelly Clarkson hit a home run with her decision to keep her kiddos off social media ... at least as far as a couple national parenting groups are concerned.

The singer recently revealed she banned Instagram in her house, and now some big-name organizations are singing her praises.

The MomCo International tells TMZ ... "We love that Kelly is making this bold decision for her kids and hope it helps parents normalize letting kids be kids without the added pressure of a digital life while they are still learning how to navigate life in 3-D."

Remember ... Kelly says social media is hard on kids in general, but it's even worse for kiddos with a famous mother or father ... hence the IG ban for her daughter River and son Remington.

Meanwhile, the National Association for Child Development tells TMZ ... Kelly's social media ban should be respected and honored because parents know their children best and are responsible for ensuring a safe and age-appropriate online environment for their kids.

It will be interesting to see if Kelly's social media ban catches on ... especially with celeb parents.

FKA Twigs suggested that the UK banning her Calvin Klein ad was a double standard -- and seemed to suggest race was a factor ... but the org that nixed it is calling BS.

UK's Advertising Standards Authority -- which has authority over this sorta thing -- tells TMZ their final assessment on whether an ad stays or goes is based solely on their responsibility and offense rules -- and FKA's ad broke 'em on objectification and inappropriate targeting.

The photo in question shows Twigs showing some side-boob & butt/thigh but covering the rest of her modesty with a denim shirt -- not the raciest shot in the world, but it's been pointed out that Kendall Jenner's similarly racy CK ad got a free pass across the pond recently.

The ASA tells us they took a hard look at the two "similar but, crucially, subtly different ads" -- but it was Twigs' ad that they took issue with ... 'cause she was far more revealing than Kendall was.

Take a look at the pics and you'll see ... Twigs is showing some side-boob and part of her buttocks -- whereas Kendall is wearing jeans and fully covering her chest with her hands.

Also, unless you've been hiding under a rock ... Jeremy Allen White's recent steamy CK ad has been doing the rounds everywhere lately -- including the UK -- a decision that's fueled widespread discussion on "double standards," as FKA put it.

But, ASA isn't backing down ... telling us they understand there's a fine line between judging what is and isn't likely to cause offense --  but it's their job to make the call.

Sam Asghari posed alongside none other than Brad Pitt this week -- and the snap could be a dig at his ex, Britney Spears ... who's historically been infatuated with the mega A-lister.

Sam posted some pics of himself and BP at "Moneyball" director Bennett Miller's art exhibit in Beverly Hills Thursday night -- claiming he got "a lot of great skin care tips with the man himself." The photo itself features a very glossy-looking Sam, next to a pristine Brad.

BTW, Bennett's gallery combines AI with the history of photography, working with a DALL•E image generator to make his exhibit pieces -- and the reason that's relevant is because some have raised an eyebrow on this photo ... wondering if it's actually the real McCoy.

Some folks have pointed out the fact that the snap of Sam and Brad looks a little touched up -- unclear if that's the case, but this is definitely the real BP ... other photos of him there are circulating online right now. So Sam isn't pulling a fast one.

Sam's rep, Brandon Cohen of BAC Talent, tells TMZ ... Sam was honored to be in the room of great talent and artists to support Bennett Miller. Sources at the event tell us Sam and Brad bonded over the acting business.

Now, on the subject of Britney ... she's admitted in the past that Brad was her first celebrity crush ... and has been a bit obsessed with him for decades -- frankly, who hasn't, right?

When Sam and Britney were engaged back in 2022, Sam stumbled upon a framed, shirtless pic of Brad in "Thelma & Louise" inside their home ... to which Britney responded, "The one and only." He kinda poked fun at her about ... and he's made jokes about Brad online too.

Brit also posted -- then deleted -- a photo of young Brad Pitt on her Instagram last year, and said she shared it "because he looks so much like my uncle" ... so take that for what you will. The point is ... it looks like Sam got his opportunity to meet the dude and he took it.

Considering he very much knows about Britney's love for Brad ... you gotta wonder if he was extra eager to post these pics -- perhaps to rub it in her face a bit post-divorce. Who knows!

Anyway, Brad still looks great ... so here's a little look back at the guy and his dreamy ways.

Ariana Grande has been the focus of a lot of gossip as it pertains to her romantic relationships lately -- something she tackles head on in her new single ... in raunchy terms.

The pop star dropped her new single, 'Yes, And?,' Friday ... and it's stirring up buzz for many reasons -- but one of the biggest takeaways fans are noticing right away is the fact that she addresses all the scrutiny over her split with Dalton Gomez/hookup with Ethan Slater.

The lyrics kinda speak for themselves here ... AG sings this during the bridge, "My face is sitting, I don't need no disguise // Don't comment on my body, do not reply // Your business is yours and mine is mine // Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?"

The chorus is also telling in terms of how she deals with all the noise aimed her way, with her crooning ... "'Yes, and?' // Say that shit with your chest, and // Be your own fuckin' best friend // Say that shit with your chest // Keep moving like, "What's next?'"

Of course, her words here reflect what's been a whirlwind romance for her and her new Broadway boyfriend -- which dovetailed with her divorce to Dalton ... all of which came together somewhat messily last year. Despite that, AG's apparently tuning out the haters.

Now, the track itself is quite solid -- an upbeat dance-friendly, '90s-esque bop ... and it's certainly a good introduction into her solo comeback ahead of her new album dropping.

However, even on the musical front ... there are some heads turning over what some think is a familiar sound here -- namely, the fact that the beat feels very 'Vogue'-coded, if not a rendition of it. As far as we can tell, Ari didn't sample Madonna ... but damn, it is similar.

Anyway, it's just a footnote of analysis of the song -- by and large, everyone is digging it.

Fab Morvan was thought to be a longtime bachelor, but his recent divorce smashed that reputation -- now we know when exactly he got hitched ... and it was a while ago.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Milli Vanilli singer's estranged wife Kim Marlowe -- who filed for divorce earlier this week -- lists their marriage date as Dec. 3, 1998 ... while going on to point out they separated just earlier this year ... on Jan. 2.

She cites irreconcilable differences as the official reason they're going their separate ways -- and she's asking for spousal support from Fab. She also wants to make it so FM can't ask for any alimony on his end. The couple apparently didn't have any kids together.

In terms of how she wants to divvy up their shared marital assets ... Marlowe says all that should be figured out in the discovery process as their divorce plays out in court.

Pretty standard stuff all in all, but again -- the noteworthy thing is that Fab here seems to have tied the knot secretly more than 2 decades ago ... and nobody knew about it!

Now, it's worth noting ... Marlowe is claiming they separated just a couple weeks ago -- which is shocking, 'cause Fab has been very publicly living his life with his current partner, Tessa Van Der Steen, and their 4 children ... with whom he apparently lives in Amsterdam.

The man who relentlessly stalked Ariana Grande for years – including showing up at her L.A. home with a knife – has now been convicted of the frightening crimes and faces years in prison.

Aharon Zebulun Israel Brown pleaded guilty to charges of stalking, residential burglary and making criminal threats against the famous singer/actress in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties beginning in 2021.

In his announcement Thursday, Santa Barbara County District D.A. John T. Savrnoch said Brown will be sentenced in May to three years and eight months in a California state prison.

After he serves his sentence, Brown will have to abide by the terms of his restraining order, barring him from having any contact with Ariana for 10 years.

That's great news for Ariana who had to endure Brown's wrath for so long.

Between February 2021 and September 2021, Brown forced his way into Ariana's Hollywood mansion nearly 100 times – and even brought along a deadly weapon on one occasion.

TMZ broke the story ... Brown confronted Ariana's security guards while brandishing the knife, threatening to kill them and the pop star. But cops were called and Brown was taken away in handcuffs.

After that, Ariana was granted a 5-year restraining order against Brown, but it didn't do much to stop him.

Marisa Abela's casting as Amy Winehouse has been pissing people off for about a year -- and loads are STILL fuming after the trailer for the biopic dropped ... can't win 'em all.

As far as we can see, Marisa's not a dead ringer for the late icon ... but she's close enough -- going from an average everyday Londoner to a beehive-wearing, heavily-tatted powerhouse in the first international teaser trailer for "Back to Black," showing her rise in the biz.

Some refuse to cut her slack, with a crap ton of haters hitting X with their fuming takes on Marisa's casting & also predicting the movie will tank at the box office. Long story short -- a lot of users feel she's just not believable as the late, great AW ... both in look, and in voice.

It ain't all bleak, though -- others admit they're pleasantly surprised at the trailer ... enough for them to make a theatre trip -- adding that it looks super emotional.

The trailer definitely stirs up some poignancy ... Abela's Winehouse is heard saying she doesn't pen songs to be famous ... only doing it cause she doesn't know what else she'd do if she didn't.

She also hopes people forget their troubles when listening to her voice -- which arguably they did as Amy's music touched millions before her tragic passing at 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning in 2011.

The mixed reaction to the Sam Taylor-Johnson-directed biopic doesn't come as a surprise as Amy fans have been venting for a while over Marisa looking nothing like the star -- also slamming the need for a biopic in the first place.

Though, Amy's own dad Mitch is totally cool with the biopic ... telling TMZ early last year Marisa's a great choice for the role -- even if she doesn't look exactly like Amy.

Jack O'Connell plays Amy's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, and Juliet Cowan & Eddie Marsan play her mom and dad, Janis and Mitch Winehouse.

Elton John is auctioning off some incredible finds from his gorgeous Atlanta home ... and bidders can get their hands on some of the Rocket Man's most recognizable memorabilia.

The auction, called "The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road" is going down next month at Christie's in New York -- with everything belonging to the singer coming from his condo in Georgia, which he bought back in 1992.

Folks can bid on a diamond necklace that says "The Bitch Is Back," which is expected to fetch up to $40,000 ... or a pair of performance-worn silver platform boots with his initials on it, which could snag $10k.

Elton's beautiful grand piano is also heading to the auction block, and is expected to go from $30-50k ... and we're guessing something like that comes with a lot of history.

Also up for auction are more pieces of his elegant wardrobe, photographs, a unique 18K gold watch, a Julian Schnabel portrait of Elon -- which could make up to $300k -- and other artwork.

Bids open next month, and the exhibit will be open to the public throughout February at Christie's NYC showroom ... so start saving now if you're a mega fan and want some of this stuff.

Well, that was quick!

Selena Gomez is already back on Instagram 20 hours after she said she was taking a break from social media.

On Thursday, the singer/actress posted an IG photo depicting her with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay in her house. Her caption read, "@gordongram stepped into my kitchen and showed me how to make an amazing Breakfast Burger."

A day earlier, Selena announced she was cooling it for a bit on social after posting a video of her and her boyfriend, Benny Blanco having fun with some kids, presumably family.

This isn't the first time Selena has stepped away from Instagram, but it was probably her fastest return.

You may recall, she recently took a break after she came under scrutiny for her remarks about the Israel-Hamas war.

Taylor Swift made some quality time for her pal amid her jam-packed schedule and sizzling romance with Travis Kelce ... linking up with Blake Lively for a night out in NYC Wednesday.

The duo hit up Lucali's Pizzeria ... Taylor wearing a crushed velvet green dress and thigh-high brown boots ... and the ex-'Gossip Girl' actress in a side-slit suede miniskirt.

It wasn't just the two of them ... later they were joined by Zoe Kravitz, record producer Jack Antonoff -- and comedians Mike Birbiglia and Jerrod Carmichael.

Taylor and Blake have been great friends since 2015 ... so it was only fitting the 'Karma' singer sought solace in her ... after she was the butt of a major joke at the Golden Globes.

TS made a swift exit after host Jo Koy poked fun at how the NFL has more camera shots of Taylor than the Globes -- leaving her visibly annoyed.

Pete Davidson was arguably serving up some serious disrespect at Aretha Franklin's funeral ... turning up to the 2018 service high on ketamine, at least according to him.

The comic detailed the drug-induced blunder in his Netflix special "Turbo Fonzarelli" ... the quipping that he was so high at the 2018 service, that he went up to the late icon's family, telling them, "Hey! I'm just here to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts!" Yeesh ... that's bad.

The ex-SNL star jokes Aretha wasn't around to know he was under the influence ... but if she were, she'd ask "what the f***" he was doing at her funeral and who the hell he was in the first place.

That's a fair assessment -- as at the time, he wasn't that famous and only attended the service as then-fiancée Ariana Grande's plus one. Still though, he was pretty known.

Now, Pete adds he was embarrassed being out and about while using ketamine -- which he used for 4 years to treat depression -- though the drug comes with a range of dissociative and hallucinogenic side effects. It doesn't seem like Pete's using ketamine anymore.

The audience clearly found the story hilarious ... but Pete sounds low-key ashamed of his actions at the time -- and perhaps for good reason, 'cause it is a pretty wild confession. That said, he's attempted to get the bad habit under control with 7 rehab stints over the years.

June 2023 was when he last checked in to rehab ... also addressing his post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Machine Gun Kelly's new signature guitar is being picked apart ... with critics saying the razor blade design promotes self-harm with impressionable youth.

Schecter Guitars just released a new instrument called the Machine Gun Kelly Razor Blade and it's being universally ripped online ... with tons of folks saying it promotes, glorifies and advocates cutting.

The issue ... razor blades are often used by people who cut themselves on purpose -- and not just that, but there's a stereotype about fans of pop-punk/emo rock engaging in self-harm ... which only heightens this convo, considering Kelly's affiliation with the genres.

In light of all that ... the company's Instagram post announcing the new MGK signature guitar is being bombarded with negative comments -- with folks slamming the guitar as Schecter's worst offering ever.

In introducing the guitar at a recent gig, Machine Gun Kelly explained it's "kind of an ode to Tickets To My Downfall, the line on title track and also an ode to my 20s and all the crazy times that I had." Unfortunately, folks are calling this out as promoting cutting, even if indirectly.

MGK's heard all the noise, and now he's singing a different tune ... saying, "I'll never explain my art because art is conversational and always up for interpretation, but I will say, most of you constantly interpret it wrong."

Seems like the early negative feedback may be affecting the sale price ... Schecter originally listed the guitar for $2,169 but the price tag has already been slashed to $1,499 ... a $700 reduction.

Selena Gomez is going dark yet again on social media -- this after a somewhat messy moment at the Golden Globes ... which Selena says is much ado about nothing.

The pop star/actress announced she was stepping away from her online accounts Tuesday -- writing ... "I'm off social for a while. I'm focusing on what really matters." She posted a quick clip of her boyfriend, Benny Blanco, playing with some kiddos ... presumably family.

Two things ... this is just the latest "break" that Selena has taken amid public scrutiny/backlash -- not to mention the latest declaration that she must step away. Remember, she did something similar recently amid the Israel-Hamas war, among other times.

Second ... this just further confirms that Selena's serious with BB -- after Sunday's show, she posted a shot of them smooching backstage, so she's not shying away from the relationship.

While some of her fans are certainly supporting her, others are for sure rolling their eyes.

Fact is ... a social media pause doesn't really need to be announced -- and yet, for whatever reason, SG continues to feel like she needs to broadcast her personal plans to the world.

Of course, this comes after she denied the gossipy convo seen 'round the world at the Globes -- where Selena was telling Taylor Swift something juicy ... which everyone perceived to be about Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner. She said that was BS, as did he.

Tim told us straight up that he has no issue with Selena, and strongly suggested neither did his boo -- even though not everyone has been convinced of that based on their history.

Selena Gomez is calling BS on the idea that she had beef at the Golden Globes with Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet ... by revealing what her chat with Taylor Swift was really about.

The "Only Murders in the Building" star chimed in after loads of drama circulated -- most of which claimed the hot tea she told Taylor during Sunday's award show was about Kylie and Timmy.

Selena commented -- like she often does -- on an Instagram post about the rumors ... writing, "Noooooo I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up. Not that that’s anyone[s] business."

Remember, folks online thought Selena was telling Tay about getting denied a selfie with Timbo by Kylie, but it sounds like the gossip was a lot hotter than that, depending on who ya ask.

Might be a bit TMI there, but it's her way of putting the rumors to bed ... and as we reported, Timothée did a bit of the same Monday night when we got him in Beverly Hills.

He mostly kept a tight lip while on his night stroll, but told us there's no drama going on between the ladies ... admitting they're cool as cucumbers.

Ex-Scorpions and Kingdom Come drummer James Kottak has sadly died ... TMZ can confirm.

Kottak's daughter, Tobi, tells us ... her father passed away Tuesday morning in Louisville, KY -- although further details about the exact circumstances weren't immediately available. Metal Sludge first reported rumblings of the musician's death.

His exact cause of death is unknown as of yet.

James is best known for being in the hard rock German band Scorpions ... joining the group in 1996 and becoming their longest-serving member until he was fired in 2016 for his alcoholism.

He had spoken of his battle with booze over the years ... saying in October 2022 he hadn't been able to completely ditch alcohol and it was an ongoing process.

Before that, he was well known for being the original drummer for Kingdom Come ... who made a significant impact in the '80s thanks to their Led Zeppelin-style music.

He also toured in other bands such as KrunK, Montrose, Wild Horses, and Buster Brown, among many others.

Alongside music, James made some reality TV show appearances -- most notably in 2012's "Ex-Wives of Rock."

He was famously married to Tommy Lee's sister Athena from 1996 to 2010 ... with a bitter custody battle ensuing over their son Matthew.

He was 61.

The mother of "The Voice" star Lauren Duski appears to have died by suicide ... this after being found dead in her car with a gunshot wound, TMZ has confirmed.

According to the Tuscarora Township Police in Indian River, Michigan, officers found a car "sitting on the edge of the roadway with a female in the driver's seat slumped over" on Friday -- and paramedics were unable to find a pulse when they arrived.

Police say she had a "single gunshot wound to the chest" and a handgun was found in the car with "one round spent." TMZ confirmed with law enforcement sources the woman was Lauren's 59-year-old mother, Janis Duski.

While cops are still investigating Janis' death, it appears all signs point to it being a suicide.

Lauren said an emotional goodbye to her mother in a touching post online Monday, saying, "My mom was the greatest human I’ve ever known. There was no one who loved harder."

In the post, the season 12 contestant took time to remind people to "please talk to one another. If you’re struggling, do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed. Your mental health is nothing to be ashamed of and neither is talking about it."

Janis was 59.

RIP.