Much ado about Britney this morning.

According to British tabloids, she has a new boyfriend -- Fred Durst from rock band Limp Bizkit.

Durst co-founded Limp Bizkit in Florida in 1994 after working as a tattoo artist and a spell in the US Navy.During the Woodstock concert in 1999, organisers pulled the plug on the band’s set after crowd violence. Durst was blamed for egging on rowdy fans.

The Sun labels its article "EXCLUSIVE!!", but the same info appears in The Mirror. Durst is quoted in both tabloids saying about the pop princess: "She just happens to be a person that I wouldn’t have thought could make me feel this way. I have never felt this way. I really like her. She’s a sweet, amazing girl and I’m happy to know her right now."

Durst broke up with long-term lover Jennifer Rovero, in 2001. He and the ex-Playboy model have a 17-month-old son called Dallas, while Durst also has a ten-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

The US singer has also been linked with model Caprice and Justin Timberlake’s latest girlfriend, actress Alyssa Milano. Timberlake and Spears broke up last March.

But on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, the STAR had a scoop of its own yesterday, confirmed today on Page Six:

Britney beats tummy trouble THE NY POST

Justin Timberlake savored a tender kiss with his rekindled flame Britney Spears early yesterday, right after the tipsy pop tart tossed her cookies in the bathroom.

It happened at Joseph’s Café in Hollywood after Monday night’s American Music Awards. Our spy in the ladies’ room tells PAGE SIX she overheard Spears get sick in a bathroom stall moments before she went outside to swap spit with Timberlake.

"You could hear her in the stall," says our source. "Then she came out and cleaned up in front of the mirror. She was a little tipsy, but she wasn’t drunk. Then she left the bathroom, where Justin was waiting outside, and she held his hand as they walked through the bar. They were kissing and holding hands. They were definitely together."

While butterflies in her taut tummy may be to blame for Britney’s awkward moment, the upshot of the incident is that teen pop’s reigning couple appear to be back together.

A front-page story in Star magazine declares them a couple again and reports they were seen going back to Britney’s sprawling NoHo condo last month.

"They walked into Britney’s building hand-in-hand," reports the tab. "Once they were inside the lobby they started making out and sucked face all the way to the elevators."

"Justin left alone three hours later, looking rumpled and happy," a source is quoted telling the tab. "You do the math."

I've been asked who is the model in the Gucci ad below. She is Carmen Kass. In the other, more mainstream versions of the ad, you can see her face - but not her G...
The usual Gucci PR blitz is under way -- less than 24 hours after the first appearance of the ad, The Guardian already comes to help in this article today using all the key words -- "controversy... raunchy... a number of telephone complaints... the genius behind Gucci... provoked outrage... the creative genius (again!)... a flood of complaints..." etc etc.

I think it was Nora Ephron who first wrote - "people seems to have lost the ability to distinct between controversy and what is merely offensive".