Gossip / Rumors

It's a battle of the most-hated Batmans!

Here's the newly-named caped crusader Ben Affleck (41) with his best Bruce Wayne inspired tuxedo (left) -- and the previously titled worst-winged avenger George Clooney (52) in the same penguin suit (right).

Joey Fatone has arrived to New York ... where he's rumored to reunite with *NSYNC at the MTV VMAs this weekend ... but when we asked him about it, he seemed to be LYING like a rug.

Don't get us wrong ... he totally denied being in NYC for the alleged performance. But c'mon Joey ...

Now we're no Columbo ... but we think we know when someone's playing games with our heart (wrong band, but you get the idea).

So, we gotta ask ...

Authorities are suspicious of the cause of Lisa Robin Kelly's death and both the L.A. County Coroner and the L.A. County Sheriff are conducting separate investigations ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the L.A. County Coroner never got a call from the rehab facility where Kelly died. A doctor at the rehab facility pronounced Kelly dead at 8:07 AM Thursday, but we're told the Coroner didn't find out until noon, when an official from the office saw the post on TMZ.

But we're told what really made authorities suspicious ... the rehab doctor told the Coroner Kelly died from an embolism. Our sources say the Coroner scoffed at the doctor's conclusion, because there's no way to know if someone died of an embolism without performing an autopsy. In other words, you can't tell by looking at a dead body.

Our sources say the doctor at the facility told the Coroner Kelly was taking detox drugs, but the toxicology report isn't in so it's unclear if the drugs played a part in her death.

As for the embolism -- the Coroner still has not made a determination. But they ARE suspicious. And, we're told, the Sheriff has issued a security hold on the case, meaning no information can be released while the case is being investigated.

Romeo's idea of the perfect 24th birthday gift involves Justin Bieber's on-again/off-again gf Selena Gomez!

What bro code??!!

Simon Cowell is finally coming to terms with fatherhood ... saying he feels "good" about the fetus growing inside Lauren Silverman ... and adding, "I'm proud to be a dad."

Cowell made the comments to BBC -- the first time he's really addressed the runaway sperm that knocked up the New York socialite.

"Things are changing in my life for the better," Simon said ... adding, "[Silverman] is a very special girl."

The 53-year-old gazillionaire says he's changed his outlook on parenthood in the past few months and insinuated that he wasn't always so keen on the idea ... explaining, "Now I know I feel good about it."

So far, no word on when the baby is due.

Police are looking for a total of three suspects in the Alex Band abduction case -- including one REAL sorry son of a bitch -- and TMZ has obtained the alleged attackers' descriptions.

Law enforcement in Lapeer, MI -- where Band claims he was violently abducted in a van and robbed Sunday morning -- have released the following details:

Suspect #1 -- white male armed with a gun, wearing a backwards camo cap, approximately 30 years of age, scruffy beard

Suspect #2 -- white male, approximately 6'4", "very polite and apologetic"

Suspect #3 (the driver) -- male darker complexion

Cops say Alex described the van he was abducted in as a blue minivan.

Cops in Lapeer, Michigan have already collected surveillance footage from the area where "The Calling" singer Alex Band was allegedly attacked this week ... and are combing through the video looking for an image of the abductors, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... the police BELIEVE Alex's story -- and are treating the situation as an abduction and robbery.

TMZ broke the story ... Alex claims he was snatched off the street around 3AM Sunday morning by unknown assailants who beat the crap out of him before dumping him on some train tracks.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... investigators are planning to release a description of the suspects later today.

Stay tuned ...

The Calling singer Alex Band has released photos of the injuries he allegedly sustained during a violent abduction Sunday morning in Michigan ... but let's be honest ... they don't paint a picture of a "near-death" encounter.

Alex's publicist tells TMZ ... the singer suffered a fractured lower spine, 15 stitches to the lower chin, 3 broken teeth and is bruised on his side and stomach from a beating that occurred after Band was snatched off a Lapeer, Michigan street by mysterious people in a van.

According to the rep, the only reason Alex escaped with his life is because his captors took mercy on him for having a baby on the way. The rep says Alex told them, "Don't kill me as I am about to be a dad," and the captors responded, "We don't kill fathers." It's like something out of a bad movie.

As we first reported, police are investigating the incident ... but we've tried multiple times to get someone from the PD on the phone and they're stonewalling it.

TMZ has obtained the 911 call made by "The Calling" singer Alex Band's manager after the singer was found bloodied and beaten on the side of the road in Lapeer, MI early Sunday morning.

During the call, Band's manager is calm but reports that Alex was abducted and kidnapped by unknown assailants.

When asked how he knew Band was abducted, the manager replied, "Because he's bleeding all over the place and I found him on the side of the road." The manager told the operator Band was breathing and conscious.

8:02 AM PT: Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the reason cops searched the bags is because they received an anonymous tip someone in Justin's party had drugs in their luggage. Justin's bags, along with the bags of his entourage, were searched. Cops found nothing.

Justin Bieber's reputation apparently precedes him ... a drug-sniffing dog rooted through his posse's luggage at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.

Justin was busy posing with fans as the police pooch did his thing. As far as we can see, the dog turned up nothing and everyone made their flight ... eventually.

The Biebs was in Miami over the weekend, partying with Lil Jay Z and Lil Kevin Hart.

Melanie Griffith brought a very interesting date to the premiere of her movie "Dark Tourist" this week -- her ex-husband Steven Bauer ... a guy she's BARELY been seen in public with since they divorced more than 20 years ago, TMZ has learned.

Griffith and Bauer (who famously starred in "Scarface" back in 1983) were all over each other on the red carpet ... which raised eyebrows considering Melanie's current husband, Antonio Banderas, was no where to be found.

According to our crack research team, the last time M & S were photographed on a red carpet together was back 1985 ... back when Ronald Reagan was President.

There have been rumors that Melanie and Antonio have been going through a rough patch ... which makes her decision to walk her ex down the red carpet even more curious.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... despite divorcing in 1987, Melanie and Steven have remained close over the years and have worked together to co-parent their son Alexander Bauer, who also attended the premiere.

We reached out to Melanie's people -- but didn't hear anything back.

More fingerpointing in the death of "That '70s Show" star Lisa Robin Kelly ... 'cause after Kelly's boyfriend blamed her estranged husband for causing the actress to relapse ... the husband tells TMZ the fault lies with the BF.

We spoke with Kelly's estranged husband Robert Gilliam ... who tells us the only reason LRK's boyfriend trashed him to the media after she died Thursday is because "he's trying to cover his own ass."

"In the last two weeks, she called me 22 times to get away from him," Gilliam says.

Gilliam says he offered to help Lisa -- who struggled with alcohol abuse for years -- but under one condition ... she had to check in to a rehab center closer to Northe Carolina, where they lived when they were together.

Gilliam says Lisa agreed -- so he started setting things up ... but she passed away before she could make the move.

Kourtney Kardashian's DNA test doesn't prove jack ... so says the male model who insists he's the REAL father of her 3-year-old son Mason, not Scott Disick.

Michael Girgenti tells TMZ, he saw the DNA test results TMZ posted on Thursday, which Kourtney got from an independent lab, showing that Scott is Mason's dad -- but Girgenti insists those results could easily have been forged.

As a result, Girgenti is refusing to back off his paternity lawsuit, in which he claims he knocked up Kourtney in 2009 after meeting her at a photo shoot ... and Mason is the result.

Girgenti tells us he won't be satisfied until a court-monitored DNA test is conducted.

Kourtney Kardashian is putting the rumors to rest that she conceived 3-year-old Mason after cheating with a male model, releasing DNA test results Thursday that show Scott Disick is really the father.

TMZ broke the story ... a male model named Michael Girgenti is suing Kourt for paternity over Mason, saying he had sex with her in '09 and 9 months later she popped out a kid.

KK immediately denied the allegations as a grab for fame -- but now she's got hard proof ... a lab doc that says the probability that Scott is the dad is 99.99% ... meaning the male model is 99.99% full of it.

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are NOT getting a divorce and have never even discussed it ... this according to multiple TMZ sources AND Kris Jenner.

Women have come forward recently and claimed they hooked up with Lamar. Several media outlets are even saying divorce docs are being filed as early as today. But our sources say it's just not true.

Jenner tells us, "Khloe and Lamar are absolutely not getting divorced. There's been no talk of divorce." Jenner also says both Khloe and Lamar were at her house 2 days ago and everything was fine.

Other sources confirm with TMZ ... Khloe has not even spoken with a divorce lawyer.

Our sources say they will only comment on what they know ... so they're not calling the women who have come forward liars. But they are very clear -- Khloe and Lamar are very much together and there is NO divorce.

With rumors of a Michael Phelps comeback, there's one American who thinks MP should STAY OUT of the pool when the 2016 Olympics roll around -- Bruce Jenner.

Phelps announced he "retired" from swimming after dominating at the 2012 games ... but lately, there have been rumblings that he's considering re-shaving his body hair for a dramatic Olympic comeback.

But not everyone's fired up about the idea ... especially Jenner, who knows a little something about what it takes to compete at the Olympic level -- 'cause before he played second fiddle to the Kardashians, he won gold in the decathlon in 1976.

"He's done," Jenner told us in Calabasas yesterday ... "Quit while you're ahead."

For the record, Phelps is only 28 ... and still in incredible shape.