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Elton John's swapping out that yellow brick road for another made of 24-karat gold ... 'cause a collection he curated for Christie's sold at auction -- and they fetched a bundle.

The legendary singer-songwriter partnered with the popular auction company to sell a ton of iconic items, and Elton made out like a bandit on the auction's first night -- with all 49 lots selling for a total of around $8 million.

Among the items sold ... Elton's silver leather platform boots circa 1971 for $94,500, prescription sunglasses for $22,680 and even his beloved 1990 Bentley Continental which brought home $441,000.

A series of luxury wristwatches sold for prices in the six figures ... and Elton even parted with "Flower Thrower Triptych" -- a painting by enigmatic artist Banksy -- to the tune of just over $1.9 million. The auction house says Elton got the Banksy piece "directly from the artist" ... which presumably means EJ has met the elusive man (or woman) himself.

BTW, Wednesday was only the first night of The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road sale ... more items are set to be sold off in person Thursday and Friday.

Also ... deep-pocketed purchasers who'd rather buy from the comfort of their own home will have about a week to pick up more one-of-a-kind collectibles.

New reports suggest the real reason Kelly Rowland walked off the set of "Today" was because of being peppered with Beyoncé questions -- but that's BS ... so say well-placed sources.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Kelly arrived last Friday just before 8 AM -- already in full glam -- and she and her team began complaining about her dressing room from the jump. We're told "Today" staffers explained their dressing rooms were notoriously "dumpy, glorified closets."

The sources go on to say Kelly and her team were "quite upset," and asked who had the dressing room upstairs. They were told that room was taken by J Lo, but they were then offered a few options. We're told Kelly and her team liked none of them, and 7 minutes before air, they said, "We're gonna leave," and they booked it.

The sources say there's no truth to the notion Kelly's breaking point was Savannah Guthrie repeatedly asked KR about Beyoncé during her sit-down in the second hour of the show.

These reports claim Kelly has a stipulation for interviews that Beyoncé and Destiny's Child questions were off limits. Whether that's true or not ... we've been told squarely that's not why Kelly left.

That jibes with what the main characters have said over the last couple of days ... including Hoda herself, who explicitly mentioned dressing rooms Monday while extending an olive branch to Kelly.

Also ... Sherri Shepherd leaned into the dressing room dust-up while welcoming Kelly on her own show ... and they played it up further with BTS footage, showing the dressing room Kelly got -- and telegraphing it was way better than what "Today" offered.

Now, on the issue of Kelly being peeved about questions regarding Beyoncé/DC -- there may actually be some truth to that ... as she did come across as a bit annoyed with Savannah, and she proved to be annoyed in other interviews this week too.

With that said ... that's not why she left "Today" on Friday. It was, indeed, dressing room problems. Now, that's not to say Kelly isn't welcomed back to "Today" -- 'cause she is.

The college student who got a cease and desist from Taylor Swift for tracking her private jet ain't sweating a legal battle with her, 'cause he thinks she'll balk ... so says his attorney.

James Slater, the lawyer for Jack Sweeney, tells TMZ ... he and his partners don't see any realistic legal path for T-Swift and her attorneys to take if they wanna press this jet issue.

Now, Slater does say if there was any movement from Taylor's side -- namely, a lawsuit of some sort -- Sweeney's team would immediately respond with an anti-SLAPP motion ... a law that provides defendants a way to dismiss meritless lawsuits quickly.

JS adds to us the letter from Tay Tay's attorney, Kate Wright Morrone, had little legal substance, from his POV, and her assertation Jack committed stalking and harassing behavior by showing TS's flight path to the world was totally unfounded in the eyes of the law.

He basically blasts the whole thing as a big scare tactic ... asserting everything that needed to be addressed was written in the letter he sent to Swift's team -- and that nothing else really needs to be mentioned to make their point. Bottom line ... Sweeney ain't scared!

Quick recap ... things took off when TS' attorneys issued a legal threat to Sweeney in December, warning him that if he didn't stop putting their famous client's safety in imminent danger, he'd be subject to further legal action.

But Slater retaliated last month ... saying Taylor's camp cited no law supporting the cease and desist -- while also rebuffing the stalking claims ... saying it doesn't apply to his client whatsoever since Sweeney has never made a "credible threat" against Taylor through his words or actions.

He also pointed out the obvious ... Sweeney simply uploaded publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration to track Taylor's plane movements -- a point backed by aviation attorney Tim Loranger of Wisner Baum, who tells us this has been a longtime hobby for aviation buffs ... insisting there's no there-there to threaten a lawsuit or any legal action.

Loranger tells TMZ that whether aircraft owners like it or not ... their planes and jets have to be registered with the FAA and their registration numbers are displayed on their aircraft's side ...  making it pretty easy to be followed on flight tracking services.

We spoke to some more legal experts who weighed in on Swift vs. Sweeney -- and not everyone thinks he's in the clear. Civil attorney Tre Lovell of The Lovell Firm tells us that unless Sweeney can clearly describe the purpose for his actions ... he'd suggest Sweeney treads very carefully moving forward.

In contrast, Camron Dowlatshahi of Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP says TS has no legal standing in this matter -- but the one thing she's got is a whole lotta $$$ to bury JS in legal fees -- so, bottom line, he should probably watch his back.

Bottom line ... more people seem to think Jack's A-OK to keep tracking ... ball's in his court.

Machine Gun Kelly has unveiled his most dramatic tattoo yet -- a layer of solid black ink across almost his entire upper torso ... and yes, we've confirmed it's the real deal.

The rapper dropped his new look on IG Tuesday ... and you can see that the black ink saturates virtually half of his upper body ... with some of his OG inkings peeking through strategically placed paneled gaps down his arms and in between a cross symbol across his chest.

Machine Gun Kelly's decision to undergo this transformation was a deeply personal one, according to his tattoo artist ROXX who did this job for the artist -- and who tells TMZ that MGK had a "spiritual consultation". We're told he explained to her all his tatts were too chaotic for him now and he was seeking change and order in his life.

This is also something MGK makes clear in his IG caption ... explaining that the blackout cover-up was for "spiritual purposes only." FWIW, Kelly made sure no one could comment.

Oh, and if you're wondering whether it was painful ... ROXX praises him for being the toughest client she's ever had in 30 years. So, safe to say ... it hurt a lot.

Roxx tells us they started the process in mid-Dec with MGK coming to see her at her private L.A. studio 4 days a week for 13 six-hour sessions -- making it one of the biggest projects she's done in such a short time. She's not done yet either ... ROXX says she's got a bit more tattooing to do on him to finish the job.

Adele finally explained why she was making such a goofy ass face at the NBA All-Star game a couple years back -- and, apparently, it all has to do with film crews defying her wishes.

The singer got into the story over the weekend at her Vegas residency and explained what's become one of the most famous Adele memes. You've seen it by now ... the camera cuts to her sitting courtside, but she's awkwardly looking around avoiding making eye contact.

Adele says an NBA film crew on hand had asked ahead of time if it'd be okay to record her during the broadcast, which she says she politely declined because she "really doesn't like being famous" and was content with her boyfriend Rich Paul doing the schmoozing.

Well, they ended up circling back and filming her anyway ... and that ticked Adele off.

Adele says that rather than engage with the camera like she was supposed to -- or how others might in the situation -- she decided to play dumb and just scan the arena, all aloof.

In terms of her very full lips -- another observation people have made about the now-viral clip -- Adele insists it's all-natural, noting she doesn't need filler. Anyway, the bigger point here is that she says she was sulking in the moment ... and expressing defiance against the NBA.

It's pretty funny that Adele thought she could go unseen/unnoticed at a star-studded event -- especially when she was seated next to the most prominent NBA agent in the league ... the dude who literally reps LeBron James and a crap ton of other high-level players.

Since then, Adele has continued to be pretty camera-shy out in public with Rich -- but when she's in her own environment in Vegas ... she's an open book, and very chatty.

Taylor Swift doesn't have Travis Kelce around as she continues to tour in Australia -- but she'll be far from lonely as she ramps up for Sydney ... 'cause Sabrina Carpenter is there.

The two singers grabbed dinner Tuesday at a swanky hotspot in the city's Surry Hills neighborhood -- and as you can imagine, they were surrounded by fans and paps (and bodyguards) who were following their every move into the restaurant.

Taylor was dressed pretty casually, but was rocking some wavy hair here down under ... and SC wore a red getup, while rocking a big grin as she joined her gal pal for a meal.

Sabrina's been hired to open for Taylor for the next handful of shows -- including 4 in Sydney that start up Friday ... and another batch in Singapore, where they'll jet off to next. After that, TayTay's gonna switch up her opening act yet again ... and bring on Paramore for Europe.

In other words, she's back into the swing of things ... just like she was here in the States last year before she went public with Travis and started going to all his games in the fall.

Obviously, she rode that wave all the way to the Super Bowl ... which made for some memorable snaps -- but now, it's back to reality for her ... and thus far, Travis doesn't appear to have joined her on her international leg of the tour, and it remains to be seen if he will.

Of course, T-Swift still has Kansas City on her mind ... something she proved the other day by rocking a Chiefs SB hat -- so not all is forgotten as she delves deeper into the tour.

An Amy Winehouse statue in London has been defaced -- with protestors covering up the statue's Star of David necklace with a Palestinian flag, causing outrage among some ... but not necessarily in her own family.

Pro-Palestine demonstrators besmirched the late singer's statue over the weekend during a massive protest in London ... with someone placing a sticker of the Palestinian flag on Amy's likeness.

The statue features Amy wearing a Star of David necklace, a symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism, and the Palestine flag sticker covered up the pendant. Amy was British and Jewish.

Naturally, the internet is outraged ... with folks calling the vandalism disgraceful, revolting and antisemitic.

Mitch Winehouse -- Amy's dad and the administrator of her estate -- however is taking a more measured response, telling TMZ ... "It's not very nice but it was just a sticker."

Amy's bronze statue in London's Camden Market was unveiled in 2014, a couple years after her 2011 death, and fans often leave flowers to pay their respects.

On this episode of The TMZ podcast ...

Billie Eilish was seemingly not happy with the amount of TikTokers and influencers in attendance at the People's Choice Awards Sunday night.

Taylor Swift resumed her tour in Australia, repping Chiefs gear during her travels, however, no sign of Travis Kelce just yet.

Viewers of the hit show "Love Is Blind" are roasting contestant Chelsea Blackwell for saying Megan Fox is her celebrity doppelgänger.

Plus, Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez were spotted eating at a strip mall Chinese restaurant!

Subscribe to The TMZ Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Hosts: Charlie Cotton & Deven Rall

Billie Eilish seemed to speak some truth at the People's Choice Awards this weekend -- namely, openly wondering why a bunch of social media "stars" were among real A-listers.

The singer was filmed chatting with Kylie Minogue behind the scenes at the award show in L.A. Sunday -- and she could be heard pointing out that there was a crap-ton of TikTokers in the building ... something she didn't look to be a huge fan of.

Watch ... BE was sitting next to KM when she made the observation -- and once she realized she was being filmed, she tried to cover up how she felt about it, unsuccessfully.

Billie could be heard noting there were some TikTok heads "over there" ... she then grimaces, shakes her head and says something to the effect of "I don't need it." Now, in terms of who exactly Billie might've been referring to, there's only a handful of suspects.

There really weren't a lot of TikTok/social media personalities on hand at the show -- and they did seem to be more filled with actual Hollywood types (mainstream actors/musicians) than viral people. But, among those who have a huge following ... Tana Mongeau, Chris Olsen, Gigi Gorgeous, Alix Earle, James Charles and maybe a couple more here and there.

That's what makes her remarks so funny ... even with the small handful of TikTokers, it was still enough to rub Billie the wrong way -- and we gotta admit, she ain't really wrong here!

Madonna suffered a mishap onstage this weekend ... which saw her go toppling backward in the middle of the show -- but thankfully, she seemed to be okay.

The singer was in the middle of performing Sunday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle -- her latest stop on the "Celebration" tour -- and while she was belting out "Open Your Heart," she and one of her backup dancers attempted this choreographed move on a chair.

In video obtained by TMZ, you can see Madge sitting in the chair -- which her dancer tilts back ... only to lose control and send his boss straight to the floor. It stunned the crowd.

Unclear what exactly went wrong here ... but from the looks of it, the dude lost his grip as he was dragging her back down the stage plank, and it ended with Madonna on her back.

Madge was laying there for a quick sec, but the show went on ... with her dancer continuing to strut his stuff -- and Madonna herself eventually rising to her feet and keeping it going.

Funny enough ... something similar happened at yet another concert of hers recently -- only it wasn't the pop star in the chair, but rather ... Old Saint Nick, who took quite a tumble.

Chair routines onstage -- pretty tricky, and seem to end with folks laid out on their ass.

Usher and Justin Timberlake draw a lot of comparisons ... but Usher says he's got a leg up on his counterpart -- 'cause he beat him in a Justin Bieber bidding war.

The singer-songwriter revealed in an interview with People that, way back in 2008, he met Bieber and Scooter Braun and offered to bring JB onto his record label ... but first, he said he had to pull out a thicker wad of cash than Timberlake.

Usher said he also used Timberlake's name against him, telling Justin that -- if he went with Usher -- he'd be the only Justin around.

Seems like the war didn't get too contentious ... Usher doesn't say anything negative about Timberlake in the interview -- and actually compliments the guy tons.

Usher said he and Justin are both unique artists, and he loves the producers Timberlake chooses to work with ... adding he even wants to collaborate on an album with the former *NSYNC star.

He finished off by saying he's motivated by people like Timberlake who "should be recognized for who he is and what his contribution has been."

Of course, Usher was recognized for his contribution to music by headlining the Super Bowl Halftime show ... one which his protege decided to skip out on.

We broke the story ... Usher reached out to Bieber directly to get him to join him for his big performance -- but, while Alicia Keys, Ludacris and Lil Jon all hopped onstage with him, Justin decided to sit in his suite and spectate.

No bad blood between the two though ... 'cause Usher said in an interview earlier this week that "he's just wanting to tell a different story right now, and I understand that."

Ben Lanzarone -- a composer behind music in hit shows like "The Love Boat" and "Happy Days" -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

Ben's wife, actress Ilene Graff tells TMZ ... Ben passed away peacefully in his sleep Friday after a battle with lung cancer.

Graff says she was with Ben -- to whom she was married for more than 45 years -- when he died.

While many people might not know Ben's name, they definitely know the music he helped create ... with his work appearing in many iconic shows from the '70s,'80s & '90s.

Among them ... "The Love Boat," "Happy Days," "Dynasty," "Mork and Mindy," "Laverne and Shirley," "The Tracey Ullman Show," "The Colbys," and "Mr. Belevdere."

Ben and Ilene met on the set of "Grease" -- where Ben worked on the music video for "Summer Nights" -- and later worked together on 'Belvedere' where Ilene played Marsha Cameron Owens for 118 episodes.

Ben was honored with the ASCAP's Most Performed Underscore Award in 1986 and is survived by Ilene and his daughter Nikka.

Ben was 85.

Beyoncé’s in the country music doghouse it seems ... at least if John Schneider’s to be believed -- ‘cause he said the star's like a dog takin’ a piss on the genre!

The former “Dukes of Hazzard” star sat down for an interview with right-wing One American News Network to discuss Bey’s recent foray into country music ... and he blasted the Queen for not leaving the genre well enough alone.

Check out the clip yourself ... Schneider says left-wing entertainers have to “make their mark just like a dog” -- basically, he sees entertainers trying to claim country music as their own.

While he’s probably best known for his work as an actor, Schneider does know a little bit about country music ... John’s actually released a bunch of albums with several reaching impressive heights on the country charts back in the ‘80s.

Beyoncé's used as the example here, but JS is speaking more broadly about pop stars flooding into country music ... and he seems none too pleased about the trend whatsoever.

Artists like Post Malone and Lana Del Rey are also reportedly dipping their toes into the country music pool ... but Bey’s new album’s gotta be the most-anticipated. Her new tracks “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” got dropped during the Super Bowl and signaled a whole new sound for the Beyhive to jam to.

BTW ... this isn't exactly a new phenomenon. Steven Tyler, Cyndi Lauper and Nelly are just a few big names who have put out country/country-adjacent albums in the past.

Now, if you’re wondering how Bey’s fans took Schenider’s comments ... they weren’t shy about venting their anger, calling his words “disgusting” and pointing out Beyonce’s from Texas -- so country’s kinda in her DNA!

Jennifer Lopez looked like a tourist in Times Square to plug her new album -- 'cause there's no better way to let folks know you're the one and only ... than by posing with yourself!!!

That's exactly what J Lo did Friday as she had a photog follow her around the famous NYC stop standing in front of a bunch of billboards that were promoting her latest project -- not to mention the visual treatment/movie ... plus, a doc coming out too that's all about her.

Like we said ... Jen very much so comes across like an out-of-towner here, standing in the heart of the Big Apple cheesin' as she points and goofs around in front of the giant ads.

This is the sort of thing a normie would do in Times Square -- and yet, here's a bona fide A-lister doing it ... with no shame to her game. Jenny's got an album to promote, dammit!

BTW, Jennifer didn't confine her self-referential poses to the big billboards hanging up against all the skyscrapers -- she brought her feel-good vibes down to the street level as well ... leaning up against a van at one point that also had her face plastered across the side.

There, too, Jen was smiling ear to ear ... happy to pimp her image for as much pub as possible. On its face, it seems to have worked ... 'cause here we are talking about it!

We'll say this ... Jen's new album, 'This Is Me... Now,' is actually getting a ton of love among fans -- who say it's a throwback to 2000s R&B ... and one of J Lo's best projects yet.

Etterlene DeBarge -- gospel singer and matriarch of the legendary DeBarge family -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The mother-of-ten passed away peacefully in her sleep at Berkley Post-Acute in Woodland Hills Friday morning -- this according to her daughter Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge. A cause of death has not yet been announced, but sources tell us EDB was ill and battling dementia.

Bunny broke the news online -- posting a short message to social media, simply announcing her mother's death to fans of the group ... noting she was in a better place now.

Etterlene met Robert DeBarge -- her future husband -- back in 1952 and married him the following year. They built a huge family, complete with 10 different children  ... seven of whom went on to play in the Motown super group DeBarge.

The Grammy-nominated group was active from 1979 to 1989 before the lure of solo contracts for Bunny and El DeBarge helped lead to the group splitting up. There were other factors that ultimately ended the family band.

Etterlene and Robert divorced in 1974, and Etterlene chronicled their marriage and her children's rise to fame in the book "Other Side of the Pain." She married George Rodriguez in 1980 -- a pairing that lasted the rest of her life.

Etterlene is survived by George, eight of her children, and numerous grandchildren. One of her sons, Robert DeBarge Jr., passed away in 1995 while Tommy DeBarge passed away in 2021. Obviously, her legacy and impact in music lives on through her children.

Etterlene was 88.

Jennifer Lopez is letting us in on some very raunchy details about her marriage with Ben Affleck -- singing about their sex life in one of her new songs ... and yeah, it's raunchy.

Things get hot and heavy in the sultry new tune "Greatest Love Story Never Told" from her new album, "This Is Me… Now." Listen to these NSFW lyrics ... "Missing your body, Climbing on top of me, Slipping inside of me, Way that I ride it, Bodies aligning, Look at our timing."

Yeah, there's clearly no such thing as TMI when it comes to J Lo ... at least not these days.

The song isn't entirely X-rated though ... she also sings of how it was "destiny" they "found each other twice in one lifetime." Just another example that she and Ben are deeply in love.

Listeners were diggin' the emotionally charged tune ... some self-proclaimed hopeless romantics said they could totally relate to it, and that it was their favorite from her first album in a decade, which was trending heavily on X Friday.

While Ben obviously served as a major inspo on the new album, he also got involved personally -- lending some background vocals for "Not Going Anywhere." Yep, he's credited.

After their famous relationship ended in the early 2000s, J&B got back together in 2021, with plenty of cozy sightings, including some nostalgic yacht trips, of course -- and thankfully, the singer has made it clear they're much more secure now than they were previously.

So much so, in fact, that she made an album that heavily touches on their relationship.

One thing's for sure: she's into her hubby -- and, as we've learned, he's really into her too!

J Lo's killing it right now -- not only is her new album being well-received by fans, but this film of hers is being praised as well. There's a separate doc coming soon too ... "The Greatest Love Story Never Told," which is hitting Prime in due time.