LGBT

Kobe Bryant is awestruck by a former Lakers star who rivals him -- Magic Johnson ... telling TMZ Magic's support of his gay son is a lesson everyone, including pro athletes, should learn.

TMZ broke the story ... Magic and Cookie are 100% behind their son, EJ, who is openly gay. Kobe tells us ... "Of course Magic is supportive of and loves his son. Why should anyone be surprised?"

Kobe says, "What I can't tolerate is a lack of tolerance."

The strong implication -- tolerance is not just limited to parents and their kids, but to pro athletes whose teammates may soon come out of the closet.

In case you aren't reading between the lines -- given Kobe's stature, his statement could have a huge impact on athletes coming out.

Magic Johnson's 20-year-old son hit the Sunset Strip, hand in hand with his boyfriend ... and his parents couldn't be happier for their kid.

Earvin Johnson III -- aka EJ -- is one of Magic's 3 kids. The Lakers legend tells TMZ, "Cookie and I love EJ and support him in every way." Magic goes on, "We're very proud of him."

The feeling is mutual ... 'cause EJ told us he's been "hoping and praying" for his dad's team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, ever since Magic and his business partners took over the franchise.

He's also a huge Lakers fan ... obviously.

EJ -- who's a student at NYU -- has a close relationship with his parents. Back in August, Magic tweeted, "Thx to my son EJ for hosting me at NYU. Look forward to taking him to dinner tonight in the city."

Transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox was a stereotypical manly man before she became a woman ... and TMZ has obtained the photos to prove it.

An ex-GF tells us ... she met Fallon back in 1999 when he was serving in the Navy. Fallon -- born Boyd Burton -- went by "Woody," after "Woody Boyd" from "Cheers."

The ex says Woody was a "manly man" -- athletic, short-cropped hair, leather jackets, big into heavy metal -- and she never suspected he'd become a transsexual. The two eventually broke up because of distance ... no other relationship problems.

Years after the breakup, the ex says she reached out to Fallon after she announced her transition on Facebook -- and that's when Fallon informed her she always felt she was in the wrong body.

Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame record executive Clive Davis -- credited with discovering legendary talents like Whitney Houston -- has just revealed ... he's bisexual.

Davis opened up on the Katie Couric show, saying he is currently in a monogamous relationship with a man.

Davis -- whose heterosexual marriage ended in the 80s -- said, "I opened myself up to the possibility that I could have a relationship with a man as well as the two that I had with a woman ... I'm still attracted to women ... You don't have to be only one thing or another. For me, it's the person.”

As for the timing of Davis' sexual revelation, the 80-year-old father of four -- also credited with discovering Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, and Santana -- has an autobiography coming out this summer. Shocker.

Honey Boo Boo's Uncle Poodle says he was -- and still is -- the victim of some horrible anti-gay attacks ... suffered at the hands of violent homophobes who broke his ribs and dislocated his jaw.

Poodle -- real name Lee Thompson -- dropped the bombshells in a video to commemorate GLAAD's Spirit Day -- which was created to fight intolerance and violence against the LGBT community.

Poodle explains, "Being gay in the South ... people don't like it."

"Growing up as a kid, I was bullied day in and day out ... broke ribs, dislocated jaw, cars vandalized ... I've had cars vandalized to this day."

Still, Poodle says he was able to get through it all because of his family and friends who stand by him.

Drama at the Chick-fil-A same sex "Kiss-In" event in Hollywood ... TMZ has learned the chicken joint called police today claiming the MEDIA was harassing its employees.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the Chick-fil-A staff wasn't bothered by the pro-gay marriage event taking place inside the restaurant, but felt the media was being too aggressive in trying to get commentary from Chick-fil-A employees.

Cops responded to the scene, but by the time officers arrived ... both sides had already reached some sort of truce.

They say you are what you eat, so it's no surprise failed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum loves him some anti-gay chicken.

The conservative 54-year-old just showed his support for controversial fast food chain Chick-fil-A -- whose president has been very vocal about the company's support for all things anti-gay lately -- by tweeting, "With two of my boys, Enjoying chick-in-strips and awesome peach shake at Chick-fil-A."

Then, in a reference to fellow GOP evangelical Christian Mike Huckabee's campaign for a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on August 1st, Santorum added, "See you here next Wednesday."

"Office" star Ed Helms is officially boycotting Chick-fil-A ... claiming the restaurant chain's anti-gay stance has caused him to lose his appetite.

Helms is responding to a statement issued by Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy ... who recently told a Christian publication that when it comes to accusations his company is actively opposed to gay marriage, Chick-fil-A is "guilty as charged."

Cathy claims his chicken people support the "biblical definition of the family unit." In fact, Chick-fil-A reportedly donated nearly $2 million towards religious groups that oppose gay marriage in 2010 alone.

The comments clearly didn't sit well with Helms ... who tweeted, "Chick-Fil-A doesn't like gay people? So lame. Hate to think what they do to the gay chickens! Lost a loyal fan."

Anderson Cooper has revealed ... he's gay and he's proud.

Cooper made the announcement in a letter to Andrew Sullivan, who was doing a story for TheDailyBeast.com about the social impact of famous people who come out as gay.

Sullivan reached out to Cooper for his thoughts, to which Anderson replied with a letter.

"There continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear where I stand," Cooper wrote.

"The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud."

"I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist."

The Green Lantern has been rebooted -- he's young again, and he's gay.

DC Comics just announced which character is coming out of the closet, and it's Alan Scott, aka the Green Lantern.

In his prior life, Green Lantern -- on Earth 2 (in an alternate universe) -- was married with 2 superhero kids. But now he's come back as an unmarried, media mogul who we're sure throws amazing Hollywood parties. He's also a Type-A. Sound like anyone you've heard of???

Fun fact: The Green Lantern's Achilles' Heel is wood.

When news broke that a comic book hero would be re-introduced as gay, the organization One Million Moms released a statement saying, "Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They don’t but do want to indoctrinate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light."

In response to that, GLAAD tells TMZ, "The idea that a comic book character will make young people gay is as outlandish as saying it will give them a green power ring and the ability to fly. Even more outlandish is the idea that there are 'one million moms' who believe this hate group's anti-gay nonsense. From Christian churches to sports fields, to now even fictional comic book worlds, our culture overwhelmingly supports gay and lesbian Americans and that's what anti-gay groups like this are working against."

Just hours after Barack Obama announced his support of gay marriage, Mariah Carey stopped by one of the most famous gay clubs in L.A. -- for some girl-on-girl fun.

Mariah dropped by the Abbey yesterday in West Hollywood -- where a very special Obama-loving lesbian night was in full swing. We're told Mariah stayed for approximately 1.5 hours from 12:30AM til the bar closed.

Sources tell TMZ, Mariah had a great time -- holding court over the sea of X-chromosomes at a table beside the dance floor. Nick Cannon was nowhere in sight.

Tracey Gold is neither sharing the laughter nor the love with her former "Growing Pains" co-star Kirk Cameron after he blasted gay people on CNN.

Gold went to her Twitter page last night ... and posted, "I am a strong supporter of the #LGBT Community, and I believe in equal rights for all. #NOH8 #LOVE."

In fact, the image on Gold's Twitter page is a photo from the pro-gay rights NOH8 campaign.

As we previously reported, Kirk ignited a firestorm Friday night when he appeared on "Piers Morgan" and said, "I think [homosexuality is] ... unnatural. I think that it's detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

Piers Morgan admits that Kirk Cameron ticked a lot of people off by voicing his opinions against gay marriage ... but Piers thinks the former child star was "brave" to stick to his beliefs.

GLAAD predictably blasted Cameron after his appearance on "Piers Morgan Tonight," during which he called homosexuality "unnatural" and "destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

But Morgan feels Cameron "was honest to what he believed" even if he most people find his views to be "antiquated."

Ricky Gervais basically called Jodie Foster a lesbian at the Golden Globes tonight.

It all went down during the opening monologue, when Gervais said he had been forbidden from discussing anything related to Mel Gibson, including his recent flick, "The Beaver" ... directed by Foster.

Gervais then joked about "Jodie Foster's 'Beaver'" ... saying, "I haven't seen it myself. I've spoken to a lot of guys here, they haven't seen it either. That doesn't mean it's not any good."

Foster -- who was in the crowd -- didn't appear to be too upset by the comment. She's never publicly discussed her sexual orientation.

So we gotta ask ...

This is a post all about the elusive penis Chaz Bono wants to buy.

Chaz is in the market for a phallus, he tells Rolling Stone magazine, talking for the first time publicly about his downstairs business. He says he's leaning more toward metoidioplasty, which he describes as "a procedure that uses what you already have down there ... which has grown larger from the testosterone. You end up with a smaller phallus than with the phalloplasty, but it's fully functional, it gets erect, and the sensation is all there."

The procedure will cost, he says, somewhere between $25,000-$45,000.

See ... you can put a price on one's manhood.

Gay people aren't the only ones who need to learn how to laugh at themselves -- T.I. tells TMZ Live ... the black community is also guilty of being overly sensitive when it comes to jokes.

T.I. called in, standing by what he said in the recent Vibe interview ... that gay people who try to stifle arguably homophobic jokes simply because they're offensive are "not American."

And T.I. insists ... the argument doesn't just apply to gay people -- it applies to anyone who can't take a joke, black people included.

But there's one exception ... the n-word. Then all bets are off.