LGBT

Fear not, raging homophobes ... when the first openly gay man to play in the NCAA tournament takes the court in Denver Thursday, the a-holes from the Westboro Baptist Church have vowed to be there to picket.

Looks like there is someone willing to defend Manny Pacquiao's recent anti-gay tirade ... kinda ... fellow Filipino Apl.de.ap of The Black Eyed Peas who says Manny's sentiments were "misunderstood."

Pacquiao made all the wrong kinds of headlines last month when he compared gay people to animals ... then doubled down in bigotry by posting a bible verse suggesting all gays be put to death.

Apl and Manny have been friends for years so when we got Mr. de.ap out on a rainy night in L.A. we had to ask him ... what's wrong with your boy?

Check out the clip -- he stops short of a full scale defense of Pacquiao's statements, but makes it clear the statements Manny made don't really reflect what's in his heart.

Lisa Ling is taking a huge shot at Caitlyn Jenner for shading presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

We asked Lisa, a staunch Hillary supporter, about Caitlyn's comment on her show ... that Hillary cares more about herself than other women.

Caitlyn got all political during the season 2 premiere of "I Am Cait" -- but Lisa thinks Jenner needs to step out of the political arena ... at least where Hillary's concerned.

Watch ... she doesn't just throw shade, she attacks Caitlyn's womanhood.

It's the celebrity couple you never heard about ... 'Queer Eye' star Carson Kressley says he once dated an NFL player ... an 8 year veteran who played in the Super Bowl.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Caitlyn Jenner were almost cheek-to-cheek Wednesday night at an event, proclaiming their undying affection for each other.

The two have crossed paths for years and formed a true bond. Both were world-class athletes in the '70s.

Things change ... but friendships stay strong.

Sam Smith got a fitting thank you for his Oscars LGBT shout-out -- getting serenaded by a famous drag queen at legendary gay bar, The Abbey.

We're told Sam and his crew rolled into the club around 11 PM for their Monday night Lip Service drag show and stayed till about 1:30 AM fueled on vodka.

It’s quickly becoming Sam’s tradition … he hit the same spot after his Golden Globes win, but this time he was singled out by Vicki Vox ... who's a legend in the drag world for her parody hit, "This Boy Is A Bottom."

Vox had some sweet words for Sam during the show ... for a drag queen at least.

Sam Smith suggesting he might be the first openly gay man to win an Oscar ... pissed off screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who's now calling out Smith.

Not long after Smith won Best Original Song for the "Spectre" theme ... Black, who is openly gay, tweeted a reminder that HE won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2009 for "Milk."

He also claims Smith is infatuated with his fiance, olympic diver Tom Daley.

The "first" argument might seem kinda petty -- especially since Smith didn't state he was first as fact -- but Black tells TMZ, "I think knowing our collective LGBTQ history is important. That's all. We stand on the shoulders of countless brave men and women. We should honor that."

As for the shot about Daley ... Black wouldn't elaborate. We've reached out to Smith, but no word back.

Fun fact: Elton John also won an Oscar, long before Black, in 1994.

Smith has now apologized.

Caitlyn Jenner is officially a makeup queen ... she's going into business with MAC Cosmetics.

The makeup giant is releasing a limited edition lipstick created by Caitlyn. The signature color will be called "Finally Free."

Revenue from the lipstick sales will benefit the MAC AIDS Fund Transgender Initiative.

Caitlyn joins some other heavy hitter celeb chicks -- Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga and Pamela Anderson ... have all released their own signature colors of lipstick or lip gloss.

Story developing ...

Magic Johnson is lashing out at Manny Pacquiao -- saying he'll NEVER watch another Pacman fight after he trashed gays as "worse than animals."

The NBA legend went to Twitter and wrote, "I applaud Nike for terminating Manny Pacquiao's contract after his derogatory statements that gay people are worse than animals."

"Fans of all walks of life including gay fans supported May/Pac fight putting $100M in his pocket. I guess to him their money is still green."

"I won't be watching another one of Manny Pacquiao's fights."

Manny Pacquiao is doubling down on his anti-gay stance -- posting a bible verse that condones putting gays to death ... hours after he was fired by Nike.

The Filipino news agency ABS-CBN captured an Instagram Manny put up early Thursday morning quoting Leviticus 20.13:

"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death, their blood will be on their own heads."

The post has since been deleted.

TMZ Sports spoke with Manny's longtime promoter Bob Arum who says although he finds Manny's views abhorrent, he understands them because they're rooted in religious belief. Manny is a born again Christian.

Earlier this week, Manny said gays are "worse than animals" -- though he later apologized, while noting that he is still very much anti-gay marriage.

Caitlyn Jenner seems to be taking a page out of daughter Kylie's playbook by getting into the cosmetics biz.

We've learned Caitlyn recently filed a trademark for exclusive rights to hawk makeup under her name.

It's not just cosmetics ... Jenner's application covers fragrances, makeup remover, nail polish, and skin care.

Cait doesn't have a clear plan on how or when she will break into the beauty business. She wanted to secure the trademark before anyone else got the idea.

It's a smart move considering Kylie's insanely popular lip kit line sold out in seconds.

Did NOT see this one coming!!

Manny Pacquiao's longtime promoter Bob Arum says he AGREES with Nike's decision to fire the boxer -- condemning his anti-gay comments as offensive and completely out of touch.

Arum joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" show (airs Wednesday at 9 PM PT, 12 ET on FS1) -- and took a stand AGAINST his own client saying, "Manny's remarks were offensive to many people ... Nike acted appropriately."

You gotta watch the entire interview on the show tonight on FS1 -- we asked Arum if he believes Manny is a homophobe and whether or not he'll drop Manny as a client.

We told you it was comin' ... and now Nike has made it official -- Manny Pacquiao has been FIRED over his anti-gay comments.

Nike issued a statement saying, "We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent."

Floyd Mayweather has a message for Manny Pacquiao -- stop throwing shade at gay people!!!

Mayweather was on a jewelry shopping spree in NYC (per usual) when we asked how he felt about his most famous opponent saying gay people are "worse than animals."

Floyd responded by saying Manny needs to be more accepting -- "We should let people live their lives the way they want to live their lives. To each his own."

Manny Pacquiao says he believes people in gay relationships are "worse than animals."

Amber Laura won't be returning to "Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood" next season and says it's all because her co-star Milan Christopher has been dragging her name through the mud to show execs.

Amber's rep tells us she found out she got the ax for season 3 when a call sheet didn't come her way. The rep called network execs but they were radio silent, and eventually the word came down ... Amber was out.

It's a twisted situation ... Amber's boyfriend, Miles Brock, left her for Milan. Milan trashed Amber on Twitter saying she just used Miles to get on the show. Milan says Amber knew Miles was gay all along.

According to Amber ... the relationship between Milan and Miles was fake -- just to bring a "gay relationship" into the show -- and she says that relationship is already kaput, ending on very bad terms.