LGBT

In the statement, which Morgan sent to several gay rights groups, the comic says, "I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville."

"While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.

As TMZ previously reported, Morgan ignited a firestorm for the homophobic content in his act -- in which he said he would stab his son if he acted gay.

Back in Morgan's "Saturday Night Live" days, the actor starred in a sketch called" Homocil" -- in which he takes pills to "deal" with the fact that his son is gay.

TMZ spoke with someone in attendance at the Ryman Auditorium ... who tells us Morgan's entire act was filled with offensive gay jokes ... explaining, "It was the worst thing I've ever heard ... so not funny."

TMZ spoke with Jarrett Barrios -- the President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation -- who tells us the organization is investigating the situation, and if the reports are true, "We call on him to remove these violently anti-gay remarks from his show and send a strong message that anti-gay violence is not something to joke about."

The Human Rights Campaign is equally upset -- telling us, "Hateful remarks that mock youth suicides and the very real emotional and sometimes physical bullying LGBT kids face on a daily basis have no place in a comedy routine.”

According to reports, Morgan took the stage at the Ryman Auditorium (pictured above) and went off about gays -- saying, "Gays need to quit being p**sies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying."

He added, "Gay is something that kids learn from the media and programming."

When talking about the possibility of his son being gay -- Tracy said he "better talk to me like a man and not in a gay voice or I'll pull out a knife and stab that little n**ger to death."

Afterward, Tracy told the crowd, "I don't "f*cking care if I piss off some gays, because if they can take a f*cking d**k up their ass ... they can take a f*cking joke."

After the performance, the Ryman Auditorium issued a statement on the performance saying, "The Ryman Auditorium regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance."

The statement continues, "The Ryman does not control the content presented by people appearing on its stage, nor does it endorse any of the views of, or statements made by, such persons."

It's not the first time Morgan has ignited controversy over homphobic material -- back in 2009, a bunch of people reportedly walked out of his show at Carnegie Hall after he said being gay was a "choice."

So far, no comment from Morgan's camp.

TMZ broke the story ... Lisa challenged the hate church head on last week -- claiming for every rotten bastard from the WBC who showed up to protest her show in Topeka, Kansas ... she would donate $1,000 to a gay charity.

Lisa couldn't decide exactly how many protesters showed up -- the number was somewhere between 44 and 48 -- so she called it an even 50 ... and put her money where her mouth was yesterday in NYC, donating $50,000 to GMHC in the form of a giant novelty check.

Lisa is performing in Topeka, Kansas -- home of the evil church -- and when she got word that members of the church were planning to protest her show -- because she is such an outspoken supporter of gay rights -- Lisa hatched a plan.

She's going to donate $1,000 for every protestor that shows up ... to the Gay Men's Health Crisis -- the nation's oldest HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services provider.

Lisa tells TMZ, "It's gonna be hilarious to write out the checks to the GMHC and have them send thank you notes to the WBC for their 'generous contributions.'"

In the documentary "Becoming Chaz" ... Bono talks about the increased sexual appetite he gets from hormone injections.

Chaz nervously admits he doesn't remember anything about the early years ... adding, "I was just thinking about 'The Sonny and Cher Show' ... you're not thinking about reality."

The staff at Liz's FAVORITE West Hollywood gay bar -- The Abbey -- erected a candle-lit memorial to the actress yesterday in the V.I.P. room where Liz would often hang out ... but that's only the beginning.

We're told the bar's offering a special drink in Liz's memory this weekend ... and they're donating ALL the proceeds to Elizabeth's AIDS foundation.

It's called the "Blue Velvet Martini" -- which they picked in honor of her role in the 1944 hit "National Velvet" -- and if you wanna try out their recipe ... it's made with Blue Angel vodka and blueberry schnapps.

NPH went on to say that Ray Wise took on the role instead.

In an interview with GQ, Winona recalls, "I remember, like, fifteen years ago, I was at one of those big Hollywood parties. And he was really drunk. I was with my friend, who's gay. He made a really horrible gay joke. And somehow it came up that I was Jewish. He said something about 'oven dodgers,' but I didn't get it. "

Ryder said at the time she had no clue what Mel was referring to, adding, "He's anti-Semitic and he's homophobic. No one believed me!"

Mel's rep had no comment.

The cameraman -- Mike Skiff -- filed a lawsuit against Cohen and the people behind the movie "Bruno" last month ... claiming he was attacked by crew members while covering a Prop 8 rally in West Hollywood.

Skiff insisted that he was targeted because he had recognized Sacha in his Bruno costume ... just as Sacha and company began "inciting" the crowd.

But last week, Skiff suddenly decided to call off his legal war -- filing a request for dismissal with the L.A. County Superior Court. His lawyer tells us the matter "had become too difficult [for Skiff] to deal with."

The lawyer, Clifford Scherer, adds, "Mike is satisfied with the statements he made, and satisfied that people were made aware of the situation."

A photog named Mike Skiff -- a gay cameraman who covers "events involving the gay community" -- claims he was at a Prop 8 rally in 2008 when a crew from Cohen's movie "Bruno" arrived on the scene with an intention to "promote violent discord between the assembled 'yes' and 'no' factions."

According to the lawsuit, filed today in L.A. County Superior Court, members of the "Bruno" crew "carried 'Yes on Proposition 8' signs contrived for the sole purpose of inciting and sparking unrest to enhance the dramatic effect of what they may capture for their film."

In the suit, Skiff claims he began to shoot the "Bruno" team when they approached him -- "violently confronting [Skiff] with the threat of being clubbed with wooden signs." Skiff says the alleged attack was designed to prevent him from filming the event.

Skiff claims he was shoved, pulled and wrestled by "Bruno" -- causing serious injury. Skiff has posted video on YouTube of the altercation. Cohen appears around the 5:25 mark.

The trailer in question begins with Vince Vaughn telling a room full of people, "Ladies and gentlemen, electric cars ... are gay." Sources at Universal Pictures told Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke they showed the trailer to gay rights groups beforehand, including GLAAD, and didn't get any negative feedback.

But after Anderson complained on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," we're told the studio folded like a cheap suit.

A rep for Universal Pictures tells TMZ, "The teaser trailer for 'The Dilemma' was not intended to cause anyone discomfort. In light of growing claims that the introduction to the trailer is insensitive, it is being replaced. A full trailer, which has been in the works for some time, will post online later today."

Now if only they can make the movie seem funny.

Our spies in North Carolina tell us Hough was in town for her birthday dinner at a Morton's steak house the other night with a bunch of friends ... and at one point during the meal, she was asked, "How did you and Ryan get together?"

Julianne responded, "He was after me since I was 18 ... he totally wasn't my type ... I thought he was gay."

But Hough continued, "After a few years, he was persistent ... so I went out with him on a date and I realized how much I liked him."

We're told Ryan and Julianne have been together for a couple of months.

After simulating a girl-on-girl kiss while on "Britain's Got Talent" two weeks ago (bottom left), the 17-year-old pop sensation performed on 'GMA' today (top).

Interesting move ... considering they banned Adam Lambert from performing back in November after he kissed a male band member on the American Music Awards (bottom right).

Translation: Heterosexual underage female singer simulating a lesbian kiss = good. Gay male singer actually kissing a man = bad.