LGBT

Ex-NBA player Kwame Brown is livid with Dwyane Wade's daughter's fashion tribute to Kobe Bryant ... saying her #8 jersey dress was "disrespectful" to the Lakers legend.

14-year-old Zaya Wade showed love to the Bryants in an Instagram post on Wednesday ... wearing the outfit and captioning the post, "always remembering and honoring Kobe and Gianna."

Seems harmless, right?? Not in Brown's eyes ... as the 2001 #1 overall pick unleashed on Dwyane during his "Bust Life" YouTube show on Thursday ... saying the ex-Miami Heat star doesn't "level up as a man."

"You are letting your woman control your house," Kwame said ... claiming Kobe's wife, Vanessa, and kids would not honor Kobe the same way Zaya did.

Kwame strongly believes Zaya's tribute does a disservice to everything Kobe stands for ... citing his work ethic, masculinity, and faith.

"I'm not saying there's anything against homosexuals, but [Kobe] is a heterosexual man. Why is he being honored by making his jersey into a dress? Wear his goddamn jersey for the day to honor him without the dress part," Brown added.

"Let's please not show our Black brother in this light. This is no offense to nobody else. This man was a heterosexual man with a wife and a family. There's no reason for this to be tied to Kobe Bryant. None whatsoever."

D-Wade has been nothing but supportive of Zaya ... and has spoken out about how the family has grown in understanding over the years.

'Jeopardy!’s AMAZIN' champ, Amy Schneider, has been dethroned after a 40-game winning streak, and she's walking away with a huge chunk of change – over 1 million bucks!

Schneider lost to Chicago librarian Rhone Talsma in the Final Jeopardy! category. Talsma nailed the final "Jeopardy!" clue -- Amy just drew a blank and wrote nothing.

The answer: "The only nation in the world whose name in English ends in an "H." It's also one of the 10 most populous."

30 seconds, folks ...

WHAT IS BANGLADESH.

Here's the thing. Amy was leading 27,600 to 17,600 going into Final Jeopardy!, but the librarian was in striking distance -- something Amy wasn't used to.  Afterward, Amy said of Talsma, "I could tell that he was here to play and that he was going to be good."

Don't feel too bad for Amy ... she walked away with $1,382,800!!!

Amy made more than her mark on the long-running show. She holds the second-longest consecutive winning streak, behind Ken Jennings. She's the winningest female contestant of all time. She has the 4th largest regular-season cash winnings of all time. And, she's now eligible for the Tourney of Champs this fall.

Amy is also the first openly transgender woman to qualify for the Tournament of Champions. She talked on 'GMA' about the positive impact she's had on the show for all to see ... a "smart, confident woman doing something super normal."

Amy Schneider is still making gameshow history on "Jeopardy!" ... and she says the best part of her historic run is having the platform to rep the transgender community.

Amy's 38 game winning streak has made her the most successful woman ever on the show ... and that means doing more interviews. Monday on 'GMA,' she opened up about being a "smart, confident woman doing something super normal." We'll take umbrage with her description of her "Jeopardy!" wins as "normal," but you get her point.

Amy said she always knew she could be on the gameshow, but says she wasn't fully prepared for what it meant to be "Jeopardy!" famous.

Following her latest win, she is now neck and neck with Matt Amodio for the game’s second-longest win streak. If she wins on Monday night's episode, she'll be all alone in 2nd place behind only Ken Jennings ... who happens to be hosting during her run.

BTW, Ken has 74 straight wins, so Amy's got a ways to go for the overall crown.

Bill Maher is back!!! And boy, this one's a doozy ... a plan for Democrats to stay in power after the 2024 election ... and it involves Joe Biden, Barack Obama and gay marriage.

This is going to sound absurd on its face ... but there's a hugely important message behind the farce, so play along. Maher says Republicans have changed the rules and even flouted the law with zero shame to get their way ... and Democrats need to do the same thing.

Maher says whether fair or not, Biden doesn't seem to be a winning candidate in '24. He ticks off others like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders but dismisses them too.

So, who then? Bill says the only person who Democrats will swarm to the polls to vote for is Barack Obama.

So, here's his plan ... Obama and Biden divorce their wives (but only in title ... they'd still be together) and then marry each other. Obama goes back into the White House and becomes a de facto Prez.

Now, Bill's still gotta learn the lingo ... he calls Obama "First Lady." Bill, it's "First Gentleman." It's 2022.

Now, don't misunderstand his point. Maher is saying Democrats are losing to Republicans because of rule adherence, something scoffed at by the GOP. Bill wants the Dems to pull a Gus -- Remember the movie, "Gus," where a mule became a kicker for a football team after the team argued there was no specific rule preventing mules from becoming team members?

He's not really saying Obama and Biden should marry ... he's making a do-or-die point.

BTW ... in case you're wondering, Biden couldn't pick Obama as his VP ... the 12th Amendment prohibits a Vice President from being elected if they're not qualified to be President, and Obama can't become Prez again because of the 2-term limit.

Mexico is not messing around -- the country's Football Federation is threatening any fan caught using an anti-gay chant at any of its matches with a 5-year ban.

Federation President Yon de Luisa said Monday during a news conference ... "We can’t tolerate discriminatory acts. We can’t play in empty stadiums. We invite our fans to adopt these measures."

“It is not a measure designed to avoid the re-sale, but without a doubt will have an effect on that because now fans, even though they have a ticket, must have registered to be able to enter.”

The chant -- believed to have emerged in 2003 during a pre-Olympic tournament in Guadalajara -- is when fans of the Mexican national team join in unison to shout the word "p***" ... which roughly translates to "gay prostitute."

For years ... people have argued that the offensive word was never intended to be used to disparage members of the LGBTQ+ community ... and that the word has multiple meanings in Mexico, as well as other Spanish-speaking countries.

That explanation didn't fly with De Luisa who said ... “We understand that, even if it doesn't go with that intent, if other people feel it that way, then it is that way. That's why we want to eradicate it."

FIFA's disciplinary committee has already begun doling out punishment -- back in November, they ordered Mexico’s team to play its next 2 home World Cup qualifiers without fans.

They also fined the federation $110,000 as punishment for homophobic chants during October qualifiers against Honduras and Canada in Mexico City.

Leiomy Maldonado is very happy to see a trans woman rocking the house on "Jeopardy!" ... saying the visibility it offers the community is priceless.

We got the famous dancer/model Monday at LAX and asked about Amy Schneider's hot streak right now on the quiz show -- she's currently the third-winningest contestant ever with 33 consecutive victories and she's the most accomplished female player ever.

Leiomy, who's transgender herself, says she fully supports Amy gunning for the crown ... especially on a show like "Jeopardy!" which has somewhat of an older fanbase.

Check it out ... she says Amy's presence there, in and of itself, is opening doors and probably opening minds too. If anything, Amy's hot streak is likely winning over folks on just merit alone -- trivia fanatics can't deny a sharp mind when they see one, and Amy's smarts speak for themselves.

When we point out trans people are popping up on more mainstream platforms lately, LM points out this group has been around for a long time -- but agrees that getting a spotlight in 2022 shows just how far society has come in addressing the topic.

Of course, not everyone has welcomed Amy with open arms. She's made it clear during her historic run that she's gotten tons of messages from people telling her she's really a man.

During NYE -- right when she was in the thick of her streak -- Amy tweeted ... "I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man. Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind 🙏."

Chris Dickerson -- the first Black Mr. America and first openly gay man to be Mr. Olympia -- died after a reported heart ailment. He was 82 years old.

Dickerson's friend, Bill Neylon, told the Washington Post Chris had died at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL on December 23 ... after struggling with complications to his heart.

Neylon added Chris had been staying in a rehabilitation center in Florida prior to his death.

Dickerson -- who stood just 5'6" inches tall -- was a pioneer in his industry ... winning the crown of Mr. America in 1970 and Mr. Olympia in 1982.

Some of his most notable wins were victories at Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Grand Prix competitions in multiple states.

The legendary bodybuilder had a storied career spanning more than three decades ... winning 50 titles during that time.

Chris had suffered a broken hip in 2020 -- he also experienced a heart attack and contracted COVID-19 before his passing, Bill told the outlet.

An NFL fan was captured on video yelling an anti-gay slur at Patrick Mahomes' brother before the Chiefs took on the Broncos on Sunday.

The incident went down at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver ... when Jackson Mahomes and Patrick's fiancee, Brittany Matthews, were down on the field taking pregame pictures and videos.

You can hear in footage from the scene, a fan in the stands clearly yelling for Jackson with a homophobic slur repeatedly.

"Hey, Ma-H**o!" the fan screamed. "Ma-H**o!"

The offensive comments were so loud, Brittany actually heard them ... and yelled back at the man several times, "That's rude!"

It's unclear if there were further interactions between the Mahomes family, the fan and stadium security.

Amy Schneider is on a roll ... she just became the 4th player in "Jeopardy!" history to rake in more than $1 mil in non-tournament play, and she's still in the game!!!

Amy, the first transgender contestant to qualify for the show's Tournament of Champions, won her 28th game on the show that aired Friday night, taking her winnings north of $1M ... to be specific, $1,019,001.

She was stoked, saying, "It feels amazing, it feels strange. It's not a sum of money I ever anticipated would be associated with my name."

Amy has now won more loot than any other female contender, and she's now the record-holder for most consecutive wins by a female contestant.

She joins 3 others who broke the million-dollar mark -- Ken Jennings, who pocketed $2,520,700, James Holzhauer, who scored $2,462,216, and Matt Amodio, who won $1,518,601.

Amy's had a tough time recently, after getting robbed a few days ago.  She said, "Hi all! So, first off: I'm fine, But I got robbed yesterday, lost my ID, credit cards, and phone. I then couldn't really sleep last night, and have been dragging myself around all day trying to replace everything."

It's unclear if the robber/robbers knew she was on a "Jeopardy!" winning streak.

She also fell ill after the robbery. But, things are clearly looking up.

Patton Oswalt has nothing to apologize for when it comes to cozying up to Dave Chappelle, 'cause it's a comedian thing ... and that's it, according to fellow comic Aries Spears.

We got the comedian/actor Monday at LAX where we asked what he made of Pat posting a follow-up apology for his NYE photo with DC ... directly addressing those who were clearly offended, especially the LGBTQ community.

Aries says it’s a shame we live in a time where Patton felt the need to say sorry for hanging with a friend ... especially one as accomplished as Dave.

Check out the analogy AS drops on us -- he compares the 2 comics to masters of their crafts, who just wanted to have a bit of sparring fun ... and if Dave asks you to join him to perform with him or just hang with him for a night, you do it.

Aries' view is ... any comedian would, or should.

Of course, it’s quite possible Pat did, in fact, feel bad about taking/posting the photo after the fact ... and wasn’t just capitulating because he had to, as Aries suggests here. After all, he did say himself ... he doesn’t agree with Dave’s stance on trans issues -- so you kinda gotta take the man at his word.

'SNL' star Michael Che's also weighing in on Dave and Patton, and is definitely in Aries' camp -- as he put it, "celebrities love their fans way too much." He added some keywords for emphasis.

Patton Oswalt did some soul searching to kick off 2022 -- and the deep dive into reconciling friendships with differing POVs was spurred by none other than ... Dave Chappelle.

The comic was catching some backlash over the past couple days for a set of photos he posted on IG, which show him palling around with Dave in Seattle, where they were apparently both performing to end the year ... and where they actually shared stage time.

PO says when Dave asked him to come next door for a drop-in set, he thought, "Why not?" ... noting he was happy to say bye to 2021 alongside a longtime friend, while singing his praises.

Of course, Patton was quickly met with criticism from folks offended by Dave's comments in "The Closer," which caused him to post a second time where he explained himself.

The guy had a lot to say, but the bottom line from his remarks is this ... he isn't going to just discard Dave completely -- whom he says he's known for over 3 decades -- although he does make a point to say ... they're completely at odds over the transgender issue.

Patton writes, "[W]e also 100% disagree about transgender rights & representation. I support trans peoples' rights — ANYONE'S rights — to live safely in the world as their fullest selves. For all the things he's helped ME evolve on, I'll always disagree with where he stands NOW on transgender issues."

He goes on to say he doesn't believe a "seeker" like Dave is done learning, however -- which is, in part, why he won't nix him from his own life ... especially after knowing someone that long. He goes on to ponder the ramifications of him cutting off other friends in recent years ... wondering if his hard stance pushed them deeper into what he calls ignorance.

Harry Potter and co. got together again for a trip down memory lane -- and even though J.K. Rowling doesn't sit for an interview herself ... she still magically appears (kinda).

The author and creator of the wizarding franchise was notably absent for HBO Max's 20th Anniversary 'Return to Hogwarts' reunion special, which hit the airwaves Saturday ... just in time for the new year.

While JKR did not appear in person to mingle with the rest of the cast and crew -- including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint -- she was there in spirit ... but more specifically, there in old archival footage from a couple years ago, this according to reports.

Word is, clips of J.K. from 2019 are sprinkled into the nearly 2-hour show ... where she talks about casting and the early process of turning her books into a blockbuster film. Apparently, some of the cast also talks about her, but they do it sparingly ... and mostly gloss over her.

If you're wondering what gives ... it's no secret J.K. has become persona non grata in Hollywood of late, due to comments she's made over the past year that many perceive as transphobic, remarks she' since tried clarifying time and again. Still, Radcliffe disavowed her sentiments ... drawing a firm line in the sand on where he stands on the trans community.

Now, with that in mind ... it's perhaps no surprise Rowling isn't in the HBO special, but weirdly enough -- there are slightly differing takes on why she wasn't involved ... including a report claiming she herself turned the opportunity down.

EW cites sources saying J.K. was extended an invite by HBO brass, but that she and her team felt the old footage of her would be adequate. Even more puzzling, these same sources say her transgender controversy played no part in the decision to pass on joining.

HBO Max, meanwhile, confirms they reached out to Rowling, but wound up agreeing that her old clips would suffice. It's unclear, on their end, if she turned 'em down for a new interview, or if they actually shot something with her and then ultimately scrapped it.

It looks like things are getting real between RHOC's Braunwyn Windham-Burke and her new bae, Victoria Brito -- we've learned they'll be together for the holidays with Braunwyn's huge brood!

This is stage 2 of what's clearly a very serious relationship. Sources with direct knowledge tell us Victoria already met Braunwyn's estranged husband, Sean, back in November. We're told they hit it off, chatting about tech and NFTs.

Now things are escalating ... our sources say Victoria is planning to meet Braunwyn and Sean's 7 kids in Orange County for the New Year holiday.

As you might know, the 'Real Housewives' alum came out as lesbian last December, but oddly ... she and Sean have opted to stay married, reportedly for the sake of the kids.

We say odd, because they clearly know Mom has a new love interest -- or at least, they're about to know that.

Just this month, we broke the story ... Braunwyn began dating Victoria after meeting on a dating app back in September.

A man was ejected from an AEW Dynamite event on Wednesday ... after he held up a transphobic sign at openly transgender wrestler Nyla Rose.

The AEW star was involved in a match with Ruby Soho at the North Carolina event ... when broadcast cameras caught a fan pointing the offensive poster at Rose.

"Nyla Rose is that guy's dad," the sign read.

FYI ... in 2019, Rose made history when she inked her deal with AEW, becoming the first openly transgender wrestler to sign with a major U.S. wrestling promotion.

Rose was clearly offended by the sign -- cameras caught her flipping off the fan mid-match ... and her wife wrote on her social media page that she was outraged over it all.

Thankfully, according to Rose's wife and reporters on the scene, the fan was promptly removed once security was made aware of it.

"To everyone wondering," Nyla's wife wrote, "The a**hole has been removed from the venue."

We've reached out to AEW for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen this kind of insensitive behavior at an AEW promotion before -- just last month, a fan called openly gay wrestler Anthony Bowens a homophobic slur during one of his matches.

We spoke with Bowens shortly after the incident, and he condemned the awful hate speech, but said he believed it all to be an isolated incident.

The Everton soccer club is condemning a group of fans -- their OWN fans -- after chanting an anti-gay slur at an opposing player ... with team brass calling it "unacceptable."

The offensive phrase, "Chelsea Rent Boy," was chanted during Everton's Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the UK on Thursday.

FYI, "rent boy" is British slang for young male prostitutes who have sex with men.

The Everton F.C. was immediately called out by an LGBT+ support group, Rainbow Toffees -- who says they've spoken with the soccer club about their ill-mannered fans on several occasions.

"It's wrong, it's homophobic & needs to stop," the group said.

"We have brought this up with the club in the past & will be bringing it up again."

The Liverpool-based team replied with a statement, saying ... "Everton condemns the homophobic chanting directed at a Chelsea player this evening at Stamford Bridge.'

"Such behavior is unacceptable and does not represent the values of our club or our wider fanbase."

Everton added, "Through our 'All Together Now' campaign we promote and celebrate the diversity and inclusivity within our club, our game and our community. We expect fans to reflect those values by refraining from any discriminatory chanting in the future."

Colton Underwood says he would literally hide from his teammates in the locker room during his football playing days ... admitting he was terrified he would get turned on and be outed as gay.

29-year-old Underwood -- who played in the NFL from 2014-16 -- opened up about being in the closet throughout his athletic career in an interview with "Call Her Daddy" ... claiming he went through extreme measures to make sure no one knew about his sexuality.

"I wouldn't shower after practice because I was afraid of getting turned on in the locker room or in the shower," Colton told Alex Cooper.

"I never really was attracted to anybody who I played with, or coaches. So, it's sort of silly to even say that. But, I wanted to avoid any chance of being outed, so I would not shower with the rest of the team."

Instead, the former Bachelor star said he would change clothes in a corner or in a bathroom stall ... or just leave the locker room entirely.

"There was just a lot of things that I sort of did differently than other players because I felt like I had to, because I didn't want questions to start being asked."

The caution remained through college as well -- Colton says he'd even sleep through his own house parties out of fear of revealing his sexuality while drunk.

Colton says his excuse would be that he's too focused on his career to party ... which is also the same reason he said he was famously a virgin late into his 20s.