LGBT

Evander Holyfield may think homosexuality is wrong ... but his son says the heavyweight boxer's got nothing but love for gays -- and even had a great relationship with a gay in-law.

Ewin Holyfield tells TMZ ... Evander is no bigot -- despite being bashed for expressing his opinion on homosexuality during last night's "Celebrity Big Brother" in the UK.

Ewin says, "My dad is the most loving and caring person you will ever meet. He treats everyone like a human being ... even if they are homosexual."

In fact, Ewin says he has a gay uncle ... and Evander treated him like a brother.

Ewin adds, "My dad feels that being gay is a choice ... and naturally that's how things work. You cannot procreate and make a baby with two women, or two men. But at the same time, my dad is not going to judge someone for their sexual orientation."

Evander Holyfield told a housemate on "UK Celebrity Big Brother" that being gay is no different than being handicapped ... because a doctor can fix both ... and was immediately SCOLDED like a child by "BB" producers.

Holyfield made the comments Sunday -- during his first week in the BB house -- when reality star Luisa Zissman asked him if there were any gay boxers in the sport.

Holyfield -- a deeply religious Christian --cited the bible and said homosexuality is NOT a choice ... but rather something like a "handicap" ... something doctors can fix.

Zissman respectfully disagreed with Evander ... and it seemed the two were ready to move on with their lives ... when Evander was taken to a private room, where producers RIPPED him for expressing his beliefs.

In fact, "BB" producers called Evander's comments "inappropriate" because they "aren't the views that are held by a large section of society."

Holyfield says he understood that his comments could be considered offensive ... but never apologizes.

This whole situation reminds us why we revolted against England ... so we could have the freedom to express our religious and other beliefs ... no matter how offensive.

As bad as Evander is .. the show is being RIDICULOUS. Didn't they they learn anything from the A&E/"Duck Dynasty" debacle??

A surprise lesbian wedding broke out at a Utah bar co-owned by "Modern Family" star Ty Burrell ... but the actor didn't just stand around and watch, Ty actually PARTICIPATED in the ceremony, TMZ has learned.

Ty (who plays Phil Dunphy on the show) was hangin' out at Bar X in Salt Lake City on Friday where a group of pro-gay marriage supporters were celebrating the striking down of an anti-same sex marriage law.

During the party, one lesbian couple decided they were so excited ... they were going to GET MARRIED RIGHT THERE IN THE BAR ... and asked Ty if he would sign the marriage certificate as an official witness.

Of course, Ty obliged ... and the women -- one of whom posed for a pic with Ty (see above) -- took the plunge right there in the bar.

The sad part ... Ty was NOT ALLOWED to buy the couple a celebratory drink (employees in the bar tell us it's illegal for bar staff to buy patrons a drink in Utah).

Robin Roberts just officially came out of the closet ... telling the world she's gay and has a longtime girlfriend.

Robin just recounted her triumphs over the last year on her Facebook page ... talking about her battle with cancer and how she overcame the odds and regained her health.

In the middle of her Facebook essay she said, "I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together."

It's kind of cool the way she did it, she didn't scream it from the mountain tops ... but she revealed her true self in an authentic way.

Good for Robin.

Robin Roberts -- who came out yesterday -- has been open about her sexuality for years ... she just didn't feel the need to go public until now.

Sources close to Robin tell TMZ ... everyone in her life -- both personally and professionally -- knew she was gay and in a 10-year relationship with Amber Laign. The 2 of them met in San Francisco through mutual friends.

Amber is a massage therapist who specializes in helping people with injuries.

As for their relationship ... our sources say Amber was utterly devoted to Robin when she went through both of her illnesses -- breast cancer in 2007 and Myelodysplastic Syndrome in 2012. Robin was extremely ill and we're told Amber was her rock.

As for why Robin came out yesterday ... we're told she never felt the need to tell the world, but at the end of such a difficult year she wanted to acknowledge what Amber did for her.

Phil Robertson's homophobic comments to GQ were MORE OFFENSIVE than the words uttered by bus driver who tried to force Rosa Parks to sit on the back of his bus in 1955 ... so says civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.

Jackson came out firing against the "Duck Dynasty" star this week ... explaining, "These statements uttered by Robertson are more offensive than the bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, more than 59 years ago."

"At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law. Robertson’s statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was 'white privilege.'"

Jackson is demanding a meeting with A&E and Cracker Barrel execs ... and even issued a Friday deadline ... urging the network to uphold Robertson’s suspension from the reality show.

So much for reading " all of em,' any of em" ...

Sarah Palin -- one of Phil Robertson's strongest supporters -- admitted SHE HASN'T READ THE GQ ARTICLE that ignited the firestorm!!!!

Palin appeared on Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" the other night ... when Greta asked if Phil's explanation about why he disapproved homosexuality was too graphic in the magazine article.

Palin's response -- "I haven't read the article ... I don't know exactly how he said it."

Funny, Palin was one of the first people to defend Robertson after the story broke earlier this month -- on Dec. 18 she took to Facebook to write, "Free speech is an endangered species. Those 'intolerants' hatin and taking on the 'Duck Dynasty' patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us."

Somewhere, Kate Couric is probably chuckling ..

A major sponsor backing the "Duck Dynasty" guys won't be pulling a Cracker Barrel -- they're standing firmly behind Phil Robertson.

Realtree Outdoors -- which distributes all Duck Commander products -- says the company's values align with Phil's ... so the partnership will remain intact.

Realtree honchos say they respect everyone's right to express their opinion -- BUT they take their "Family, Friends and the Outdoors" slogan to heart.

A self-proclaimed member of Phil Robertson's church is literally making a federal case over Phil's suspension ... he's suing A&E and others because he feels the network is chilling his right to hate homosexuals.

Chris Sevier, who claims to be a lawyer, has previously sued pretty much everyone under the sun, including Bill O'Reilly, CBS, Facebook and Apple.

This time around, Sevier has put together 91 pages of law and religious propaganda, quoting scriptures about the evils of homosexuality. Sevier claims the fact that A&E has indefinitely suspended Phil is going to have a chilling effect on other churchgoers -- himself included -- when it comes to preaching what he believes is the word of God.

As for what that word is ... Sevier thinks it's rooted in sin. He says, if gay marriage is allowed, "citizens in that state should be able to marry their pets" -- he sees no difference.

In addition to suing A&E ... Sevier is suing President Obama, claiming the Prez is in cahoots with A&E to further the pro-gay agenda.

At one point in the rambling lawsuit, which Sevier says will be filed today, he says, "We live in a Christian nation 'Jack.'"

One final thing ... take a look at some of the pictures Sevier sprinkled in the suit. We don't know the rhetorical point he's making, but they're hilarious.

Phil Robertson says he is not without sexual sin, but has put it in check by getting hitched.

Phil got up in front of his bible study group Sunday and said, "Sexual sins are numerous and many. I have a few myself." But his solution was plain ... "If you're a man, find yourself a woman, marry them and keep your sex right there."

Phil -- who sees the world in black and white -- is defiant about the torrent of criticism -- "I will not give or back off my path," adding, "All I did was quote from the scriptures."

Phil gave the Daily Mail access to the study group, and they heard an earful. He said, "Common sense says we are not going to procreate the human race unless we have a man and a woman."

And the strident "Duck Dynasty" star goes on, "If you're a homosexual, He'll take it away. If you're an adulterer, if you're a liar, what's the difference? If you break one sin you may as well break them all ... if we lose our morality, we will lose our country. It will happen."

And in a not-so-subtle way ... Phil calls out A&E, which acted shocked by his comments: "This week I have been asked, 'Is this the first time you have brought up sin? ... Are you kidding? I have been traveling to and fro spreading this message ... I have made hundreds of speeches ..."

And finally, there's this ... Phil railed on people who claim he's an idiot, conceding, "We are a bunch of rednecks from Louisiana, but I am not uneducated. I have a degree from Louisiana Tech."

Check out the video below with Phil's son, Alan, cracking jokes at Sunday's church service about the controversy.

Cracker Barrel execs have cracked after just one day ... lifting their ban on Phil Robertson's merchandise ... and it's the ultimate hypocrisy.

A CB rep now says the company had no choice but to cave after "Duck Dynasty" fans blasted them via email, phone and social media.

Cracker Barrel decided to pull the products because it was so concerned about "equal treatment of all people" and "mutual respect." In other words, they felt Phil was loathsome.

But so much for principles when the almighty dollar gets in the way. Cracker Barrel now says, "You told us we made a mistake and you weren't shy about it ... you flat out told us we were wrong."

And this is precious ... They say, "We apologize for offending you."

So here's the upshot. On Saturday Cracker Barrel apparently felt Phil had offended gays and that's why they took a stand. But 24 hours later they realized a bigger problem than offending gays is offending customers who pay for CB stuff.

So now the CB rep took the position the company should have taken in the first place: "We respect all individuals' rights to express their beliefs."

How do CB execs move from office to office ... hard to do when you don't have a spine.

Charlie Sheen just WENT OFF on "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson -- threatening to unleash a monstrous media attack on the reality star ... unless he makes amends with gay people.

Sheen posted the long diatribe on Twitter ... and quickly put Phil on notice saying, "just when your desperately sub evolved ass thought the pressure was off, you are now in the crosshairs of a MaSheen style media beat down."

Charlie claims he's only voicing his opinion out of the blue for one reason ... to stick up for all his gay friends whose voices are not as powerful.

The letter is filled with classic Sheenism's -- like calling Phil a "shower-dodger", something about Charlie whittling his "cosmic banjo" ... and even a "news flash" for old times sake.

Cracker Barrel has become the first sponsor to cut bait with "Duck Dynasty" ... but not entirely.

The Southern-themed food chain reacted to Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments by removing "selected products which we were concerned might offend some of our guests" from their stores and restaurants.

We called a bunch of Cracker Barrel stores, and the managers told us the products that were removed were the ones that had Phil's face plastered on the packaging. Almost to a person, the managers added, "We still offer a wide variety of Duck Commander products," and then we heard a click.

C.B. offers this explanation ... "We operate within the ideals of fairness, mutual respect and equal treatment of all people. These ideals are the core of our corporate culture."

Phil Robertson disrespected gay employees at A&E ... and THAT'S why he was sacked from "Duck Dynasty" ... sources connected with the network tell TMZ.

We're told A&E CEO Nancy Dubuc felt she could not in good conscience ask gay employees to kill themselves for a show when he disrespected them by calling them sinners.

Our sources say ... gay employees involved in the production -- and there are a number of them -- were outraged by Phil's comments to GQ and wanted Dubuc to give him the ax.

We're told Dubuc felt this way ... If Phil had made similar comments about African Americans or Jews ... there would have been a public outcry for his head. She felt it was just plain wrong not to have the same sense of indignation when the comments were directed at gays.

Our sources say GLAAD was heavily involved in lobbying the network to 86 Phil, and they had an impact.

As for TMZ's criticism that A&E knew full well what it was getting with Phil when they hired him ... as one source put it, "He just took it too far with GQ ... especially with the coarse language."

Our sources say A&E is adamant -- this has nothing to do with being "anti-religion." Fact is ... the network runs lots of religious programming, notably, Mark Burnett's "The Bible."

The Rhett Walker Band is worried a full blown riot may break out this weekend at their concert in Ohio ... and it's all because one of the guys from "Duck Dynasty" will be there.

John Godwin from "DD" is scheduled to make an appearance Sunday at the Rhett Neck Xmas show in Lima -- and Rhett says they've been getting blasted on social media for it ... with some threatening to cause major ruckus.

However, Rhett makes it clear -- he's not gonna let some haters ruin his concert ... especially since the singer agrees with everything Phil said ... and he's vowing to make sure it goes off without a hitch to support the suspended reality star.

Walker adds, "We do support Duck Commander and 'Duck Dynasty' ... if that blows us into an area where people think we hate the gay community that would sadden me -- but we 100% support Phil and what he said."

The band says they are beefing up security at the event ... just to be safe.

If you asked yourself "Where was the publicist?" when "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson went off on gays during his big interview with GQ magazine ... TMZ now has the answer ... the publicist was not there!

Sources very familiar with the situation tell us ... a publicist did indeed accompany Robertson to the interview -- per A&E's rigid PR policy -- and the interview took place in several locations. When the GQ reporter and Phil hopped on ATVs, the publicist didn't come along for the ride.

We're told it was then the reporter apparently saw an opening and Phil made his incendiary anti-gay comments

It's pretty shocking ... because Phil is widely known as a loose cannon ... so it's a little like playing Russian Roulette to let him gallivant off with a reporter.