LGBT

Gabrielle Union was dancing her ass off at the Pride Festival in Miami Beach this weekend ... and it was all to show support for her 11-year-old stepson, Zion.

Zion is Dwyane Wade's son from a previous relationship but he lives with Dwyane and Gabby full-time and Gabby treats him like blood.

While Wade wasn't at the event -- the Miami Heat had a game in Toronto -- the NBA star was certainly proud of his family, saying:

"Zion had his own cheering section today. Wish I was there to see you smile kid."

The Pride Festival in Miami Beach is one of the biggest LGBTQ events in the country -- with more than 145,000 people flocking to South Beach last year to celebrate together.

Gabby was having a blast -- dancing, taking pictures with fans and signing autographs.

Zion was sporting a rainbow ribbon and a big ol' smile!

Dwyane posted a photo of his older son, Zaire -- a HUGE prep basketball star -- with Zion at the parade along with the caption, "We support each other with pride."

He added, "It's a family thing."

George Clooney's call for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei is gaining traction ... because the Beverly Hills Hotel just lost 2 big gigs as a result of the protest.

The Special Needs Network and The John Wayne Cancer Institute are both pulling out of previously scheduled galas at the Beverly Hills Hotel ... and it's all because the hotel owner supports killing gay people by stoning.

SNN's signature spring event -- the 11th Annual "a pink pump affair // a Celebration of Women" -- was scheduled for May 19 at the swanky hotel ... but they're moving the fundraiser to the Beverly Hilton. Tons of celebs and politicians attend every year.

Meanwhile, the JWCI is moving its 34th Annual Odyssey Ball -- scheduled for May 4 -- to the Montage Beverly Hills.

These are huge blows for the hotel, and big wins for Clooney's boycott, which covers the 9 hotels owned by Brunei's autocratic ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The Asian nation recently implemented capital punishment on proven gay citizens.

The cast from "Queer Eye" is ecstatic with the work Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is doing in DC ... and meeting her didn't suck either, cause they were EXPLODING with joy.

We got Jonathan Van Ness and Bobby Berk strolling around the nation's capital Thursday ... just moments after meeting AOC. If you didn't know ... the cast was in D.C. for an event at the Library of Congress, celebrating LGBTQ youth empowerment.

Afterward they walked over to Capitol Hill, where AOC personally escorted them to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office ... where they talked about the Equality Act.

Lance Bass has some choice words -- and a splash of sarcasm -- for the Sultan of Brunei on the day his country will start stoning gay people to death.

We got the 'NSYNC singer Wednesday leaving NBC in NYC -- where he was plugging his new doc, 'The Boy Band Con' -- and asked about the deadly law that takes effect Wednesday in the Asian country -- gay people can now be stoned to death for who they are.

Lance clearly has a POV, but it was tough for him because while we were talking to him a slew of fans were asking for selfies so whatever he said he had to say with a smile on his face.

Our camera guys also asks Lance if he was on board with George Clooney's renewed call to boycott hotels owned by Brunei's leader, including The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air. Check it out ... sounds like he's been with it for a while.

Jay-Z and Beyonce added another award to their mantle, but this one was highly personal ... and incredibly emotional.

The power couple received the Vanguard Award at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton Thursday night, and used their time onstage to praise the LGBTQ community ... and members of their family who are a part of it.

Jay went first and shouted out his mother -- who came out as a lesbian on his track, "Smile," and received a Special Recognition Award last year -- for allowing him to follow her shining example of love and acceptance.

Beyonce then praised her Uncle Johnny, who she calls "the most fabulous gay I ever knew" and says helped raise her and her sister, Solange. Bey says her uncle lived his truth and was brave and unapologetic when it wasn't easy to do so ... and witnessing his HIV battle was "one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever lived."

She says she hopes his struggles helped pave the way for young people to live freely, and stresses that LGBTQ rights are human rights.

George Clooney is calling for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of the Asian country of Brunei -- even the L.A. ones -- a week ahead of the day they'll start killing gay people by stoning.

The actor posted an impassioned open letter on Deadline Thursday, asking consumers not to do business with the 9 hotels owned by the autocratic country's ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, including the famed Beverly Hills Hotel, as well as the Hotel Bel-Air.

Clooney's plea with would-be hotel dwellers comes less than a week before the day Brunei as a nation will implement capital punishment on citizens who are proven to be gay or commit adultery. Those folks will be stoned to death.

That's no joke -- Brunei lives under Islamic sharia law ... one of the few countries in the world to do so.

Interestingly, Clooney notes that there was widespread outrage about this a couple years ago, and people successfully boycotted the two L.A.-area hotels ... if only for a short while. Now, he's asking for renewed attention in light of the looming deadline.

Jennifer Lawrence and Adele had a super fun night Friday in New York City ... hitting up a Greenwich Village gay bar and the crowd went crazy for them.

JLaw and her bud Adele hit up Pieces, and they got right in the thick of it, entertaining the crowd, jumping onstage, and participating in a drinking contest ... which Jennifer handily won.

The drag queen hosting the show asked Adele what she does for a living, and she answered, "Actually at the moment I'm a stay-at-home mum."

Adele didn't take well to losing the drinking contest, taking a hilarious shot at Jennifer, saying, "You're f***ing engaged. You're not even relevant to be here!" As you know, Jennifer's engaged to Cooke Maroney.

Adrien Broner has been ordered to stay away from social media star Andrew C. Caldwell after making a video implying he would shoot Caldwell in the face if he made a pass at him.

Caldwell filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the boxer Thursday morning in St. Louis -- which was granted by a judge. Broner must stay at least 500 feet from Caldwell.

As we previously reported, Broner threatened to "punch the testosterone" out of Caldwell earlier this week -- claiming Andrew had been contacting him online in an attempt to hook up. Caldwell has said Broner was the initiator.

Broner denied that -- and posted a "P.S.A." video online in which he threatened to shoot ANY gay person in the face who tried to make a pass at him ... saying he's aggressively homophobic.

Caldwell took the video as a personal threat -- and in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, he wrote, "[Broner] says on social media that he coming to St. Louis to kill me."

The judge felt Caldwell had a reasonable fear and granted the temporary order -- which also requires both Broner and Caldwell from posting bad things about each other on social media.

Adrien Broner is a homophobic "a**hole" -- and should be charged with a crime for threatening to shoot gay people ... this according to "Orange Is the New Black" star Lea DeLaria.

Lea -- who famously plays Big Boo on the show -- was leaving the Rolling Stone: Women Shaping the World event in NYC ... when we asked for her reaction to Broner's vile video.

And, since Lea is openly gay ... the issue of violent homophobia seemed deeply personal.

"How do I feel about someone using those kind of slurs? I have a bigger issue with anybody who's threatening gay people with violence simply for being themselves."

"F*ck all the slurs. I'll use any f*cking slur I want. What I'm talking about is that a**hole is talking about hurting gay people."

Of course, Broner made the hate-filled video during a spat with Andrew Caldwell -- a viral video star who claims the boxer had made passes at him.

During his rant (which he posted to social media) Broner said ... "If any f*g, punk-ass n**ga come run up on me, trying to touch me on all that gay sh*t, I'm letting you know right now if I ain't got my gun on me, I'm knocking you the f*ck out."

Lea says Broner's language should be considered "hate speech and should be a crime."

"Freedom of speech comes with responsibility," Lea added ... "You should not be allowed to incite people to violence against other people."

"If any f*g, punk ass n**** come run up on me, trying to touch me on all that gay sh*t, I'm letting you know right now -- if I ain't got my gun on me, I'm knocking you the f*ck out."

Adrien Broner is now threatening to attack -- and even shoot -- gay people in a vile new "PSA" video posted to his social media account Tuesday night.

"If I got my gun on me, I'm shooting you in the f*cking face, and that's on God and them. I'm not playing with none of these n****s. I don't like gay sh*t."

It's the latest in a bizarre exchange with social media star Andrew C. Caldwell -- the famous "I'm Delivert" guy.

Caldwell has accused Broner of flirting with him. Broner claims Caldwell is lying ... and claims it's Caldwell who's been shooting his shot in Broner's DMs.

"[Andrew C. Caldwell] if you don't get out my inbox before I punch the testosterone out yo GAY ASS," Broner wrote.

Two members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team are more than teammates -- they're engaged to be married!!

Defender Ali Krieger and goalie Ashlyn Harris just revealed they've not only been dating for the last 9 years, but Ashlyn actually proposed in September ... and Ali said, "Yes!"

It all went down in Clearwater Beach, Florida -- where Ashlyn busted out a pretty impressive rock.

The two are now planning to tie the knot at the end of 2019, according to People.com.

Ali and Ashlyn met on the USWNT in 2010 -- with Harris explaining, "We always sat next to each other on the bus and on flights, and we kind of just talked about our dreams and our hopes and what we wanted to do one day when we grew up. Because at the time, we were kids."

The couple wasn't exactly hiding their relationship, but they didn't flash it around either because they didn't want to be a distraction.

"We wanted to be professional and make sure that we showed up every day and did our job and it wasn’t just because we were together, it was because we love what we do, and we’re really good at what we do,” Krieger told People.

"We became more and more confident within and ourselves and then clearly within our relationship," Harris said ... adding, "Finally, after all these years, I just feel like I don’t have to hide anything or feel like I’m not living up to the community I’m in."

10:16 AM PT -- The NHL has concluded its investigation and has determined Rielly did NOT use homophobic language ... although it was not revealed what he DID say.

"Following a thorough investigation, the National Hockey League has determined that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly did not direct a homophobic slur at referee Brad Meier during last night's game with the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena," Colin Campbell, Senior EVP of Operations said in a statement.

"League officials interviewed several of the participants in the game - including Rielly and Meier - and reviewed audio of the alleged incident. All of those interviewed adamantly denied that Rielly uttered a slur and the audio supported their statements.

The National Hockey League does not tolerate language or gestures that disparage anyone based upon their race, creed or sexual orientation and continues to work to ensure that our games are played in a welcoming atmosphere for all of our players, coaches, officials and fans."

The NHL has launched an investigation into Morgan Rielly -- after a hot mic seems to have captured the Maple Leafs star calling a referee a "f*cking f***ot" ... but there's a twist.

It all went down during Monday's Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game -- when Rielly got into a heated exchange with a ref ... and people watching on TV claim they heard the homophobic slur.

There's a debate over whether Rielly used the homophobic f-word or if he said, "F*cking rag it" ... a hockey term that essentially means to freeze the puck and waste time.

Either way, the NHL says it's investigating -- "The NHL is aware of reports that a homophobic slur was used during the Maple Leafs-Lightning game," the league announced Monday.

"The League is investigating the incident and will have no further comment until this investigation is completed."

Leafs GM Kyle Dubas also addressed the alleged slur, saying "The issue of homophobia is one the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club strongly condems and takes very seriously. We are in communication with the NHL and are cooperating fully with their office."

The 25-year-old was NOT penalized during the game for whatever he said ... but the league has handed down punishments from game suspensions to fines in recent incidents.

Rielly -- the 5th overall pick to the Leafs in the 2012 draft and one of the top scoring defensemen in the league this season -- has yet to address the incident.

Rielly seems to be a support of the LBGTQ community -- and famously posted a pro-gay rights tweet in August saying, "Happy pride day Vancouver."

Kylie Jenner's getting some love from her, no doubt, incredibly proud papa -- as they celebrate her huge financial milestone with a fancy dinner in Malibu.

Caitlyn Jenner hugged it out with her daughter Friday night outside Nobu. We're guessing they hooked up to raise a glass to Kylie for officially reaching billionaire status, according to Forbes ... at just 21 years old. Yes, she's also the world's youngest self-made billionaire ever.

The father-daughter dinner came complete with a third wheel -- Caitlyn's partner, Sophia Hutchins, and the loving family scene at the end of the meal raises just one question.

We've all been there ... that awkward moment when you're a working adult and go out to dinner with a parent. WHO picks up the check??

Y'know Caitlyn had to offer -- after all, her net worth is reportedly an estimated, and totally respectable, $100 mil. She's used to paying, but maybe juuust this once ... ya let the kid slap down her black card.

Jussie Smollett being attacked in a hate crime sounded fishy and far-fetched from the jump -- according to a guy who has no love for the "Empire" actor -- Milan Christopher.

The ex-"Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star and model tells TMZ ... he believes the "Empire" star's alleged attack was an elaborate plot to grow his brand, and it's actually working -- at least on social media.

Milan -- who is gay -- says he smelled a rat from the get-go, especially because Jussie's story changed so much ... and every gay black man will now feel the consequences.

Milan is also incredulous that Jussie referred to himself as "the gay Tupac."

Christopher has obvious issues with Jussie, whom he called out earlier this week on Instagram, saying ... "let me tell y'all a little story about an evil jealous black gay man I once met."

He insinuated Jussie tried to torpedo his career and block him from scoring a role on "Empire." Milan said, "This insecure jealous queen did everything in their power to keep me from expanding my brand and having a new platform that would empower my reach & expand my 'Empire.'"

Milan later deleted the post, but judging from the video ... there's still some bad blood.

Jussie Smollett might have gotten the idea to stage his own attack after Lee Daniels talked about his cousin getting assaulted because he's gay ... at least that's what some members of the "Empire" cast think.

Sources close to the "Empire" production tell TMZ ... some cast members think Jussie's gears started grinding in his head days after Lee posted a video on Instagram on January 10 calling out homophobia. In that same post, the "Empire" creator captioned it, "This past week my cousin was beat up for being gay and I am sick of hearing these stories."

Our sources say Lee then showed up to the set and shared more about the story. Everyone was visibly upset that Lee's family had gone through this horrific ordeal. The sources now say this might have been where Jussie got the idea to take matters into his own hands ... and become an LGBT hero.

The Chicago PD Superintendent says Jussie's motive was money -- he felt he was underpaid on the show. Interesting ... because Lee Daniels is the guy in charge of the cash register.

As you know by now ... cops say Jussie's "attack" was a hoax and allege the actor paid 2 Nigerian brothers $3,500 with a personal check. Jussie's been charged with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.

Godfrey seems flummoxed by the Jussie Smollett situation, but he's pretty sure the "Empire" star is lying ... and it's time for him to start an apology tour.

The comedian was outside the Laugh Factory in Hollywood Tuesday night when he gave us his take on the alleged attack, but possible hoax, involving Jussie ... whom he suggests might have a mental problem.

Godfrey tells us he feels duped -- like so many others -- because Jussie's story tapped into racial sensitivities and took advantage of the divisive climate these days. He also points out certain details of the alleged attack he finds shady ... like how Trump supporters don't watch "Empire."

According to Godfrey, it's time for Jussie to start saying sorry to everyone he's hurt -- the gay community, the black community ... and the MAGA fans he threw under the bus. Gotta think Kellyanne Conway would agree.