Gene Simmons’ legal team has taken an ingenious first step in shutting down a website featuring a video that shows Gene in a sex act with a woman who is not his longtime girlfriend, Shannon Tweed.

We’re told Gene’s lawyers contacted Webmastercentral.com, which is responsible for the content on the website promoting the video — ordering them to cease and desist because of copyright infringement. How, you ask, is this copyright infringement? Gene’s lawyers claim the site had no right to use face paint to promote the skin flick, because face paint is a KISS thing.

And now we’re being told, the tape is old and the copyright owner is … drum roll … Gene Simmons! Apparently, Gene got wind of the tape a few years back and bought the rights. Who’s the apprentice now?

BTW, the tape was shot without Simmons’ permission or knowledge — and may well be illegal.

Britney Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline has agreed to reinstate her visitation rights with their two sons, his lawyer said in a statement on Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, said in a statement the former couple has agreed to a modification of a court order that had stripped Spears of her visitation rights, AP reported. The statement did not provide more details, but Kaplan told People.com on Friday that Spears would be allowed to see her sons “soon, very soon.”

The first cut is the deepest, as the old Cat Stevens song goes.

Then again, if Cat Stevens had been writing about the first elimination episode of American Idol’s seventh season, he’d have been completely and utterly wrong, seeing how the initial four eliminations didn’t even leave a surface wound tonight. Sure, Amy Davis, Joanne Borgella, Garrett Haley, and Colton Berry all seem like sweet, likable — or, well, at least blandly inoffensive — folks. But anyone who’s planning to tune in to Fox two or three nights a week for the next 13 weeks couldn’t have been crying like Ramiele Malubay or Asia’h Epperson at any point during tonight’s program.

Poor Garrett. You kind of knew it was all over for him when the producers snuck in his totally clueless post-performance interview clip — ”I loved it, and I can tell America will love it” — in the midst of the recap of Tuesday night’s proceedings. I had expected the kid to survive into week 2 because the sheer hideousness of his ”Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” was far more memorable than, say, Jason Yeager’s ”Moon River.” But as a friend pointed out to me over IM tonight, ”Sometimes awful is just awful.”

Plus, I’m guessing Garrett’s styling issues — broke-down mop of a ‘do, ghastly wisp of a ’stache, and pale skin that had Simon worrying he’d been locked in his bedroom for a month — contributed to his early ouster. As a message board poster named Help Me pointed out, the overall effect was simply too much: ”I looked up and there was Garrett yelling at me, ‘It puts the lotion in the basket!’ ” Another reader, however, thought Garrett’s look was more Lord of the Rings than Silence of the Lambs, kidding that there was a ”warrant out for his arrest in the shire; he stole some magic potions from a wizard and now he is wanted!” Heck, even Garrett’s fans were struggling to accept his facial hair. One reader noted that while Garrett’s newbie status made him more appealing than semipros like Michael Johns and Carly Smithson, ”I really don’t think I could vote for him with that kidstache. Wax off!”

The father of troubled pop star Britney Spears will retain control over her affairs for at least three more weeks, a court ruled Thursday.

Jamie Spears was granted “temporary conservatorship” over his 26-year-old daughter’s affairs two weeks ago when she was in a Los Angeles hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

Los Angeles Court Commissioner Reva Goetz Thursday extended that conservatorship until March 10. The action was taken because a psychiatric report on Britney, due Wednesday, had not yet been submitted, People.com reported.

In another development, Spears’ brother Bryan, 30, and Los Angeles attorney Ivan Taback were named co-trustees of the singer’s trust. Trust funds are used to pay for Britney’s security, medicine, food and other expenses, court papers said.

Make no debate about it, the fruits of Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and Alicia Keys’ labor dominated the 39th NAACP Image Awards.

Washington’s cinematic pet project The Great Debaters, a heart-tugging drama about the rise of the debate team at an African-American college in Depression-era Texas, scored four awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Actor for its director-star.

“It’s just a joy and an honor to be here,” Washington said—once the whoops and shouts of “I love you!” had died down—while accepting his acting trophy, for which he beat out, among others, Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard. “I’ll be at that other show next week but my heart is here and I’m just so happy to see these young people get recognized.” (Washington is set to present at the Oscars Feb. 24.)

Jurnee Smollett and 17-year-old Denzel Whitaker, named Outstanding Actress and Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, helped make the film the most winning production of the night.

Then there was Alicia Keys, who matched The Great Debaters all by herself. She also took home four trophies, earning Outstanding Album honors for the platinum-selling As I Am and top music video and song awards for “Like You’ll Never See Me Again.”

“No One” could top her in the Outstanding Female Artist category, either.

Chris Brown took home the male counterpart of that award, and Jordin Sparks continued to take steps out of that American Idol box, getting named Outstanding New Artist.

The NAACP Image Awards honor achievements in film, television, music and literature, most of which are recognized off-camera, the better to make time for performances and tributes to luminaries such as Stevie Wonder, this year’s Hall of Fame Award winner; Aretha Franklin, receiver of the Vanguard Award; and a resurgent Ruby Dee, who can line her Chairman’s Award up next to that SAG trophy she recently won.

“I was here when the sets were falling down and cue cards were being written in the wings just before the artists walked on stage,” Franklin said, reminiscing about the NAACP’s inaugural ceremony. “This is the icing on the cake for me.”

D.L. Hughley presided over the festivities at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, where the mood varied from spiritual to humbling to joyous to just plain uplifting.

“This is awesome, thank you so much,” Ugly Betty star America Ferrera, a winner for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy, said onstage. “I love to be a part of this show because it’s fun to be a part of, but also for what it stands for…It feels really good to be in this room with such wonderful, beautiful, colorful faces.”

Ferrera’s win, coupled with costar Vanessa Williams’ repeat win for her comedic supporting turn as the malevolent Wilhelmina, was the only thing standing in the way of a clean sweep for Tyler Perry’s House of Payne in the comedy-TV categories.

The TBS sitcom, recently picked up for a third season, was named Outstanding Comedy Series and provided actors LaVan Davis and Lance Gross with their first wins for their respective lead and supporting roles.