LGBT

Kendrick Lamar called mainstream rap on the carpet this week ... and it's clearly pissed off Diddy and his cohorts. Meanwhile more professional athletes are coming out of the closet. So we gotta ask ...

WWE superstar Darren Young was in the grip of a force more powerful than John Cena when he decided to come out of the closet ... and that force is love.

WWE sources tell TMZ ... Young told the wrestling org. he is "deeply in love" with his boyfriend of 2 years ... a man named Nick (pictured above with Young). We're told Young -- whose real name is Fred Rosser -- has been living with Nick for some time now in Florida.

Our WWE sources say Young told them Nick was actually the driving force in his decision to come out.

As you know ... Young dropped the bombshell on a TMZ photog at LAX earlier this week. Since then ... he's received a ton of support, from wrestling superstars including John Cena himself. He also got a call of support from fellow gay professional athlete Jason Collins.

WWE superstar Darren Young just dropped a bombshell, telling TMZ, he's gay ... and no, this isn't part of the act.

Darren was at LAX Wednesday when we asked whether a gay wrestler could succeed in WWE, and Darren laughed, saying, "Absolutely. Look at me. I'm a WWE superstar and to be honest with you, I'll tell you right now, I'm gay. And I'm happy. I'm very happy."

For the record, Darren is now the first openly gay wrestler ever at WWE ... and the first headlining wrestler ever to come out while still signed to a major promotion.

Other pro wrestlers have been rumored to be gay, but that's it ... just rumors.

Of course, wrestling is a little different, particularly because of how physical it is, and how little clothing is involved -- but Darren is completely unfazed. Watch the video to hear why.

Current WWE Champ John Cena is already weighing in on Darren coming out. Check out his reaction here.

Young is also receiving full support from the WWE ... which says it's "proud of Darren Young for being open about his sexuality."

A rep for the organization adds, "We will continue to support him as a WWE Superstar. Today, in fact, Darren will be participating in one of our Be A Star anti-bullying rallies in Los Angeles to teach children how to create positive environments for everyone regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation."

Less than two months after Paula Deen went on TV and proclaimed that "everyone should be treated equal" ... her husband Michael Groover was seen walking out of a Chick-fil-A restaurant.

While they do have great food (really great food), is Chick-fil-A REALLY the best place for Paula's hubby to grab a meal ... in the wake of the chef's "I'm not a bigot, please take me back America" campaign?

FYI -- it wasn't too long ago Paula appeared on TV and said, "I believe that every creature on this earth — every one of God's creatures — was created equal, no matter who you choose to go to bed at night with, no matter what church you go to pray. I believe that everyone should be treated equal and that's the way I was raised, and that's the way I live my life."

Just sayin' ...

John Cena just learned that Darren Young came out as the first openly gay WWE superstar ... and Cena tells TMZ he couldn't be happier for the guy.

"Oh wonderful," Cena said ... "I know Darren personally. Darren's a great guy. That's a very bold move for him. And congratulations for him for actually finally doing it."

Cena says he's proud of his friend ... especially because he has a brother who is gay and he knows how tough it can be to come out.

As for the WWE, Cena says he doesn't think the organization will care one way or the other -- and that's a good thing.

A contestant on CW's new reality show "Capture -- a real-life "Hunger Games" -- is outraged 2 gay contestants have painted him a rainbow hater.

Jarick Walker was booted from "Capture" -- which airs Tuesday at 9 pm on the CW -- after he and his partner (the grey team) were hunted down and captured by an openly gay couple (the red team).

Things got heated during the elimination when Jarick told the host, "No offense to the red team, but I didn't think they were gonna be the team that caught us."

The red team fired back ... "I think the Division 1 football player is upset he got put up for elimination by two homos."

Well Jarick isn't hungry anymore, because our photog spotted him at fancy schmancy Chaya Venice and he said gays and straights are all the same -- inferior to him.

Sean Sasser -- who famously dated "Real World" star and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora back in the '90s -- has died after batting a rare form of lung cancer.

Sasser frequently appeared on MTV's "The Real World: San Francisco" ... and participated in a commitment ceremony with Pedro, before Zamora passed away from an AIDS-related illness in 1994. Sasser was HIV positive.

Judd Winick -- who also appeared on the show with Sean and Pedro -- broke the news of Sean's passing on his Twitter page Tuesday night ... saying:

"Our friend Sean Sasser has died. Our love goes out to his family & husband Michael. We will miss u so much."

Sasser was 44.

"Big Brother's" got nothin' on Tyga -- 'cause the rapper says he's no fan of "gay ass" stuff.

The comments came flying out of Tyga's mouth outside Supperclub in Hollywood this week ... when a TMZ photog tried to ask the "Make It Nasty" rapper about the two $10 million lawsuits he's facing from some ladies who say their nipples were exposed in a Tyga music video.

At first, Tyga addressed the question -- saying, "Look at my car. Do I look like I care about a lawsuit, bruh??"

Then, he unleashed the insults on our photog -- "What you got a camera for? That's gay as s**t."

He continued, "You got a CAMERA on a n**ga ... go in [the club] and get some bitches."

When our guy explained that he was doing his job, Tyga shot back -- "That's a gay ass job."

B. Scott -- an openly gay transgender person -- is suing BET, claiming the network humiliated him during the recent BET Awards by yanking him off the show because he was wearing women's clothes.

Scott claims in his lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- he was hired to be the Style Stage Correspondent for the pre-show in June. At the beginning of the show, Scott claims he was wearing a flowing black tunic and black pants ... which he says were approved by BET honchos.

Scott claims after the first segment of the pre-show, he was pulled backstage and told his garb wasn't acceptable. Scott says he was ordered to "mute the makeup, pull back his hair" and remove the women's wear ... which included heels.

Scott says they forced him to change into men's clothing [see below]. Nonetheless ... Scott says he was still 86'd from the show and replaced by Adrienne Bailon.

Scott says he was humiliated and suffered damage to his reputation, claiming BET is guilty of discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation.

He wants $2.5 million minimum from BET.

Calls to BET were not returned.

Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo -- perhaps the biggest star on Spanish radio -- has been yanked off the air in the wake of sexual harassment allegations ... and the accuser is a popular performer on the radio show.

The man behind the allegations is Alberto "Beto" Cortez -- who was a writer, producer and performer on the "Piolin por la Manana" show ... which aired on 50 stations across the country.

According to the L.A. times, which broke the story, "Beto" claims his boss "Piolin" had been "physically, sexually and emotionally harassing" him for 3 years.

While it doesn't appear "Beto" has filed a lawsuit at this point, he has made several allegations in a letter to Piolin's bosses at Univision. In the letter, "Beto" claims "Piolin" would grab his ass and genitals when he would arrive to the Glendale office in the mornings.

"Beto" also claims "Piolin" would berate him with homophobic slurs -- even though "Beto" is straight and has a girlfriend.

"Beto" says he has witnesses that will back up the allegations.

As for Piolin, the radio star adamantly denies the claims ... and released a statement through his lawyer accusing "Beto" of concocting the story in a pathetic attempt at a shakedown.

"A disgruntled, troubled employee has made malicious and false claims about Eddie Sotelo," the statement reads. "This was done as part of a demand for money. The employee worked with Eddie for more than a decade. The employee's allegations of harassment ... are pure fiction intended to gain a financial settlement."

Sorry gentlemen ... Harry Styles doesn't swing both ways -- at least, he's "pretty sure" he doesn't.

The One Direction singer was talking with British GQ, when he was asked about rumors that he was hooking up with a dude named Nick Grimshaw -- a big TV and radio host in the U.K..

"We're not dating, no. We're just friends," Styles said.

The interviewer pushed the topic a little harder ... saying, "So you're not bisexual?"

To which Harry replied, "Bisexual? Me? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm not."

So, it seems Harry might be straight ... after all, he did recently date Taylor Swift.

... not that there's anything wrong with that.

Jane Lynch and her estranged wife Lara Embry are BACK TOGETHER -- just kidding ... it's just one of Jane's close friends ... who happens to look exactly like Lara.

Jane hit the streets of West Hollywood Monday with their dogs -- and everyone on the planet thought Jane and Lara were patching things up, but it's just not so.

The other woman in the photo is actually Jane's longtime friend Laura Coyle ... but, yeah ... she does look A LOT like Lara.

As we reported, Jane revealed last month that she and her estranged wife were calling off their 3-year marriage.

Jane Lynch is a woman of her word ... a month after announcing her marriage to wife Lara Embry was over, the actress has filed for divorce.

Jane just filed the docs in L.A. County Court, citing "irreconcilable differences." The 52-year-old "Glee" star met 44-year-old Embry back in 2009 at a fundraiser in San Francisco. They were married a year later in Massachusetts and registered for a domestic partnership in California soon after.

According to the doc, Jane and Lara have been separated since February. There are no minor children.

In the doc, Jane says she wants to terminate the court's jurisdiction to award Lara spousal support.

Melissa Etheridge's ex GF doesn't want their kids going on tour, living the rock 'n roll lifestyle -- specifically exposure to topless groupies and marijuana ... according to court documents.

Tammy Lynn Michaels went to court today in L.A. requesting an emergency hearing regarding the care of their 6-year-old twins -- because Melissa wants to take them with her on tour starting this month.

According to court docs ... Tammy is worried the kids haven't been vaccinated against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox ... and a slew of other nasty stuff.

In the papers, Melissa claims she and Tammy agreed, when they were together, the kids would not get vaccinations -- and Tammy only changed her mind after they broke up in 2010.

Besides the medical issues ... Tammy also has beef with the kids being exposed to Melissa's rowdy fans and their ya-bos. In the docs, she claims "many female fans remove their shirts and bras and throw them on stage" ... which, we're guessing, she feels is inappropriate.

Further, Tammy is concerned about other people watching the kids while Melissa performs because "there is use of marijuana on the tour bus and in the dressing rooms."

Eddie Griffin is being sued by a woman who claims the comic targeted her and her GF during a homophobic comedy routine ... sexually harassing them while on stage, then attacking them with a water bottle.

TMZ posted video of the altercation after it happened last July at Tommy T's Comedy Club in Pleasanton, CA -- showing Griffin dumping water on a woman in the audience -- and all hell broke loose.

The partner of the woman Griffin soaked is Leslie Champlin, and she just filed the lawsuit against Griffin and Tommy T's.

Champlin claims Tommy T's let Griffin take the stage while drunk ... and the comedian proceeded to launch into a homophobic routine targeting the lesbian couple, thrusting his crotch in their faces, and saying things like they "would not need a strap-on or vibrator" with his help.

At that point, Champlin's partner threw her drink at Griffin -- and Griffin flipped, dumping his water on her. In the lawsuit, Champlin claims the crowd also turned on her and her gf, pelting them with drinks as well.

Champlin says she and her GF were kicked out of the club ... and never received an apology from Griffin OR the club. Griffin later defended himself on Facebook, calling the women "dyke bitches."

Champlin is now suing for civil rights violations, claiming she was discriminated against based on sexual orientation. She is also suing for battery and negligence, and demanding unspecified damages.

"Big Brother" star Spencer Clawson is not a Hitler-loving bigot -- he's just saying terrible things so his racist friends in the house will like him ... so says Spencer's mother.

TMZ spoke with Donna Clawson ... who insists her son wasn't showing his true colors when "BB" cameras caught him praising Hitler and referring to a gay housemate as "Kermit the f**."

"Spencer really is a great guy," she tells us ... "This is not a guy that’s a bigot or a racist. And he’s not that way at home. He's a great guy."

So why would Spencer say such horrible things? Mama Clawson says her son is just trying to fit in with the racist, homophobic people in the house ... because it's the only way he can win the reality show.

"If you're in a group, you go along with the group talk and that is what is happening with him."

She adds, "This is a reality show. The purpose of the show is scheming behind each other's backs."