LGBT

T.I. thinks gays need to get over themselves ... at least the ones who try and muzzle people from telling harmless jokes.

T.I. was discussing gay rights with Vibe magazine -- an issue he says he supports -- and then mentioned Tracy Morgan's controversial comments earlier this year:

"Man, I will say this, the funniest joke I ever heard Tracy say during a stand-up was, 'C'mon man, I think gay people are too sensitive. If you can take a d**k, you can take a joke.' [Cracks up laughing.] That s**t was funny to me. And it’s kind of true."

Then T.I. unloaded ... talking about oversensitivity in the gay community, which he believes betrays the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech.

"They’re like,‘If you have an opinion against us, we’re gonna shut you down.’ ... That’s not American. If you’re gay you should have the right to be gay in peace, and if you’re against it you should have the right to be against it in peace."

So we ask ...

There's no transgender jealousy going on between Thomas Beatie and Chaz Bono -- because everyone's favorite pregnant man told us ... he's pulling for Chaz to take home the title on "Dancing With the Stars."

Beatie, his three children, and wife Nancy were out at CityWalk yesterday -- where he told our photog he thought it was "awesome" that Chaz was doing the show, saying, "It's wonderful and it's good to see other transgender people in the media."

3:30 PM: Multiple sources close to Sarah have contacted us to say she is absolutely NOT anti-gay ... and she had no idea about Chick-fil-A's non-culinary practices. Mystery solved.

On television "Modern Family" star Sarah Hyland, 20, has two gay uncles, but in real life she just attended the grand opening of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in Hollywood ... an evangelical Christian owned corporation which has been accused of being anti-gay.

Although Chick-fil-A has responded to the homophobic allegations by saying they "serve and value all people," they also routinely contribute to anti-gay organizations like Focus on the Family.

Pro-equality groups aren't happy about the fast food chain's latest outpost and are planning a protest in front of the new Hollywood location on Saturday.

While Sarah may not be aware of the chain's practices, TMZ contacted her rep but have not heard back.

Chaz Bono believes his stint on "Dancing with the Stars" will have a "positive impact on kids with gender dysphoria" -- and says it's "crazy" that people are boycotting the show.

Chaz appeared on "Good Morning America" and told George Stephanopoulos, "When I was growing up, if I would have seen someone like me on a show like this, it would have made all the difference in the world."

In the end, Chaz says he's just "a regular guy."

Gloria Allred and a famed lesbian rights activist will hold a news conference Monday to protest people who are urging children not to watch Chaz Bono on "Dancing with the Stars."

We're told there will be dance and viewing parties across the country with transgender individuals and their supporters on September 19 -- the night of Chaz's debut -- and Gloria will dance with every transgender person who wants to dance with her -- but only at the L.A. party.

The news conference will be held at Gloria's office at 10:30 AM PT. Of course, we'll nutbush (a form of line dancing) right over there.

11:20 AM: Gloria and lesbian rights activist Robin Tyler just announced their pro-Bono dance and viewing parties later this month -- where Gloria promises to show off her moves -- but sadly ... she refused to give us a preview.

Sesame Street has finally responded to age-old rumors that Bert and Ernie are gay -- claiming the infamous room-sharing man-puppet odd couple are JUST FRIENDS ... and have no sexual orientation whatsoever.

A petition emerged online this week, urging the creators of Sesame Street to marry the two puppets -- but the Sesame Workshop just posted a message on its Facebook account, writing, "Bert and Ernie are best friends."

The statement continues, "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves."

"Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics ... they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.

The phony statement appeared early Wednesday morning -- reading, "I have been hiding a secret inside me for too long. The human mind can only bare so much before it explodes in emotions, and well ... it is time to let the world know. I am excited and proud to announce that I am an open member of the homosexual community."

But Zach's rep tells TMZ ... "He was hacked ... that site has been down since 2006."

UPDATE: Zach just posted his own statement to his Facebook, writing, "My old website got hacked. Someone issued a 'coming out' statement on my behalf. I'm still straight and in love with my girlfriend. But not too straight; I still love musicals, brunch and Doogie Howser."

The wrestling organization works directly with GLAAD and even produced a series of anti-bullying commercials following incidents involving announcer Michael Cole and wrestler John Cena.

Calls to GLAAD were not returned.

UPDATE: A rep for the WWE tells TMZ, "WWE does not condone this type of language or bias and we reinforce that with our talent who are independent contractors."

NPH and his partner David Burtka have twins together, and Neil tweeted this morning the couple has been engaged for years ... just waiting for it to become legal.

During the meeting -- organized by GLAAD -- Morgan spoke with two young gay people, Jayden Love and Raciel Castillo (pictured above, to the right of Morgan), who were forced to live on the streets after they were shunned by their families.

Afterward, Jayden and Raciel said, "We really appreciate that we were able to meet with Tracy Morgan ... We hope that our stories have the power to change not only Tracy's perspective, but those of any parent who may be struggling with accepting their child."

Tracy spoke with Jarrett Barrios today -- the President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation -- who tells us, GLAAD reached out to Tracy about an in-person apology in Nashville next week ... and Tracy agreed on the spot.

If that weren't enough -- Barrios tells us, Tracy also plans to visit homeless gay teens at the Ali Forney Center in NYC this week ... teens disowned by their parents because of their sexual orientation.

The cherry on top -- Tracy also plans to film a PSA for GLAAD's upcoming "Amplify Your Voice" campaign.

Morgan's rant went down during a show in Nashville last week. Among his remarks, he said if his son ever came out to him, 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."

Morgan has since apologized for the remarks, but Rock had Tracy's back on Friday when he tweeted, "I dont know about you, but I dont want to live in world where Tracy Morgan cant say foul inappropriate s**t."

In a statement to TMZ, Tina said she's glad Tracy apologized -- but explained, "The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community."

Fey continued, "It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person.

"I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at '30 Rock', without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket."

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.”