LGBT

It's a dark day for fans of romance and flamingos -- the relationship between two same-sex birds has flown the coop.

Denver Zoo broke the fowl news in a post intended to celebrate pride month, but instead they had to announce Freddie Mercury and Lance Bass are no longer rockin' together.

The zoo's famed same-sex duo had originally gotten together to be "surrogate parents" in case a breeding pair of the birds was unable to raise a chick on their own.

Lance and Freddie were an item for a number of years before they called it quits ... according to the zoo. As ya might expect, coming in the middle of Pride Month ... the announcement ruffled some feathers online.

The zoo assures the public it was an amicable breakup ... but we can't confirm that, yet.

They say the notion of "mating for life" isn't true for all birds -- the zoo's flock of 75 flamingos has seen some couples stay together forever, while others jump from partner to partner ... no shame intended.

Another mass shooting, this time in Oslo, Norway, where 2 people were shot to death and 19 were injured outside of 2 bars in an area of the city that is the hub of gay nightlife.

It was a horrendous scene ... you hear the gunshots in the video as 40 witnesses looked and ran in horror. Police captured a suspect just minutes after the attack. A police spokesman would not identify the alleged shooter or motive. Cops believe there was only one gunman.

One witness told a Norwegian media outlet, "I saw a man arrive at the scene with a bag. He took up a gun and started shooting."

Norway is celebrating gay pride this month, and Saturday -- literally just hours after the attack -- a parade was supposed to start as the highlight of the 10-day festival.

Norway is considered a progressive country ... gay couples have had the right to marry since 2009.

Norway's Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, called the shooting a "cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people."

Professional wrestler Gisele Shaw has come out as transgender ... saying it's "super-scary" to open up about her true self, but knows the more she speaks about it, the more she will help herself and others in the process.

The 33-year-old -- who is signed to IMPACT Wrestling -- explained the timing of her announcement ... saying, "There is really no perfect time to be coming out. It’s my journey. Now just felt right for me," she told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Coming from an Asian background, being the oldest, there was an unsaid rule, the expectation was that I would carry the family name, that I would set an example, that I would take care of my sisters."

Shaw says her sisters look up to her not only because she's living her dream professionally ... but also personally.

Shaw has been wrestling for a number of years now -- she made her debut with IMPACT a few months ago, where she successfully picked up a W over Lady Frost after delivering a vicious corkscrew.

IMPACT Wrestling exec Scott D'Amore has already thrown his support behind Shaw's decision to come out publicly ... telling the SF Chronicle, "Gisele Shaw is a woman and a valued member of our roster."

D'Amore reassured wrestling fans that Shaw's role "will not be affected or in any way changed by her disclosing she’s transgender to the wider public."

Elon Musk's daughter is officially free of her famous last name ... she's been granted the name and gender change she requested.

Court docs, obtained by TMZ, show the L.A. County Superior Court judge signed off on the name change for the 18-year-old ... who is now Vivian Jenna Wilson. Wilson is her mother's maiden name.

She was also granted a gender change ... Vivian identifies as female, and the docs state a new birth certificate reflecting the change in gender will soon be issued by the state registrar.

As we reported, Vivian said her reason for the change is "the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form."

Back in December 2020, Elon tweeted his support for the transgender community, but added ... "All these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare."

It's unclear what's at the root of Vivian's desire to part ways with her father -- seems like it must be more than just that tweet.

Jussie Smollett still insists he did not lie about the homophobic and racist attack, because IF he did he would be a total piece of s**t -- and he claims everyone knows he's not that.

The actor dug in his heels Wednesday morning on Sway's SiriusXM show, talking about why he feels he got screwed in court. As Jussie sees it, if you buy what the jury said -- that he flat out lied -- that would mean we all found out "someone is exactly the opposite of who they claim to be."

No argument there.

However, he went on to explain that committing such a nefarious lie would mean he'd exploited the pain and fears of both Black people and the LGBTQ community -- and Jussie says, "I'm not that motherf***er."

Of course, his stunning statement flies in the face of all the evidence presented in Cook County court before he was convicted and sentenced, back in March, to 150 days.

Speaking of which, Jussie also talked about his time behind bars ... explaining why he stopped eating the whole time he was in Cook County Jail.

He says fasting is something his family always does to gain clarity, and he was uncertain about how long he'd be in jail. Remember, despite the 150-day sentence, Jussie had immediately asked the judge to let him out on bail while he filed an appeal.

Jussie says, "I have never in my life, at least in my adult life, been as clear of mind as I was for those 6-and-a-half days."

What's unclear about Jussie's clarity is how long he would have continued fasting if the judge hadn't let him out, and also ... what exactly he gained clarity about during that time.

Anthony Anderson is backing Dave Chappelle's decision to turn down an honor from his high school alma mater, which was all set to name a building after him.

We got AA at LAX Tuesday, and he thinks Dave's spot on by turning thumbs down on plastering the building -- the Duke Ellington School of the Arts -- with his moniker. After some controversy, the school was ready to put Dave's name right in the front, but Monday night he opted for a different name ... the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression.

Anthony believes Dave's a pioneer in the world of free speech, especially for comedians. Anthony acknowledges ... everyone's got their own opinion and some disagree with what Dave says, and that's ok.

While addressing the crowd Monday, Dave referenced the backlash from students over his special 'The Closer' ... and said it really hurt him.

Elon Musk's ex-wife is squarely in the corner of their daughter, saying she's proud of the 18-year-old ... amid her now very public rift with her father.

Justine Wilson, a novelist who was married to Elon from 2000 to 2008, weighed in on Vivian's legal filing to have her gender identity changed to female, and to change her full name ... including dropping her dad's famous last name.

She tweeted a convo she recently had with one of her children, and while Vivian has a twin brother, Griffin, the timing makes it pretty clear this was a chat with Vivian.

Justine says her 18-year-old said, "I can't believe I'm as normal-seeming as I am," after having what she calls a "weird childhood." Justine replied, "I'm very proud of you," to which Vivian said, "I'm proud of myself!"

The proud mother's tweet dropped right after the story broke about Vivian's desire to change her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson. What's interesting about Justine's very public support is that Vivian's made it clear she's got beef with Elon.

In the docs she says, "I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form."

Neither Elon nor Vivian previously said anything publicly about their relationship or her transition ... but back in December 2020, Elon tweeted he supports the transgender community, but added ... "All these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare."

Dave Chappelle's alma mater is paying tribute to him by renaming a building in his honor ... just months after he got heckled on campus during the transgender controversy.

Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington D.C. is set to rename its performance theater after its most noted alumni ... the school says it's honoring Dave because of his "ongoing commitment and service to the school."

As we reported, Dave paid a visit to his old high school back in November, while he was taking heat for his jokes about the transgender community.

Things got heated when he invited students who disagreed to speak during an assembly. One student stepped up and called him a bigot, adding, "I'm 16 and I think you're childish." Some students wanted the school to reverse its decision over naming the building after him.

Dave challenged both his supporters and his opponents -- asking both sides to raise money for the school, and if the opponents raised more money, he'd gladly forego the honor of having the building renamed.

As it turns out, his supporters raised the most money so the building will be called the Dave Chappelle Theatre.

One of Elon Musk's children wants nothing to do with him, and has filed legal docs to drop his famous last name -- in fact, she's changing her full name, and legally declaring her gender identity.

The documents were filed in L.A. County by Xavier Musk ... at least that was the name she was given at birth, but now -- having turned 18 in April -- she says she wants her name to be Vivian Jenna Wilson.

In the docs, she says she wants to be recognized as female -- but the name change isn't just about her transitioning, there's clearly a rift with dear ol' Dad. Vivian lists her reason for the name change as ... "Gender Identity and the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form."

Neither Elon or Vivian has previously said anything publicly about their relationship or her transition. Interestingly though, back in December 2020, Elon tweeted he supports the transgender community, but added ... "All these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare."

Vivian has a twin brother, Griffin, and the last name Wilson comes from their mother, Canadian author Justine Wilson ... who was married to Elon from 2000 to 2008.

U.S. women's soccer legend Megan Rapinoe believes it's "disgusting" to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports ... saying people need to "get a grip on reality and take a step back."

The 36-year-old made the comments in an interview with TIME shortly after FINA -- the swimming world's governing body -- voted to restrict female swimmers who transition after turning 12 or have started puberty from competing against biological women.

Rapinoe says these sorts of bans are a serious issue ... and voiced her stance against the decision.

"I’m 100% supportive of trans inclusion," Rapinoe said. "People do not know very much about it. We’re missing almost everything."

"Frankly, I think what a lot of people know is versions of the right’s talking points because they’re very loud. They’re very consistent, and they’re relentless," she added.

Rapinoe pushed back against the perception that transgender participation in sports is a "free-for-all" ... saying there has been regulation at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels.

The 2-time Women's World Cup champion says the focus is no longer on how peoples' lives are being affected ... but more about sports.

"We’re talking about kids," Rapinoe said. "We’re talking about people’s lives. We’re talking about the entire state government coming down on one child in some states, three children in some states."

NCAA champion Lia Thomas has been at the forefront of the conversation ... after some politicians claim her participation in women's sports destroys the spirit of competition.

Megan strongly disagrees.

"Show me the evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s scholarships, are dominating in every sport, are winning every title," Rapinoe said.

Lia Thomas' participation in women's swimming has reached a breaking point -- because the world's governing body for the sport has weighed in ... and their ruling is against her.

FINA -- French for the the International Swimming Federation -- came down with their decision this weekend regarding transgender athletes (specifically trans women) partaking in elite women's swimming ... and they say it's a no-go going forward, with caveats.

The org's new policy says male-to-female swimmers who transition before age of 12 or before the Tanner Stage 2 of puberty -- whichever comes later -- can compete in women's events. The reason ... they say there's no question a trans female athlete that has already gone through male puberty has an unfair physical advantage over cisgender females.

They reached this conclusion based on multiple studies, reports and presentations by 3 specialist groups, who offered their findings to FINA -- made up of members from 152 national federations -- which then voted ... with a 71% majority in favor of this decision.

In the wake of this coming down, a rep for the Prez of FINA told AP, "This is not saying that people are encouraged to transition by the age of 12. It’s what the scientists are saying, that if you transition after the start of puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair."

The spox adds, "They’re not saying everyone should transition by age 11, that’s ridiculous. You can’t transition by that age in most countries and hopefully you wouldn’t be encouraged to. Basically, what they’re saying is that it is not feasible for people who have transitioned to compete without having an advantage." They clarified there are no trans women currently competing in elite levels of swimming ... presumably, meaning international competition.

One thing FINA is considering to be inclusive to trans swimmers ... an "open competition" category. It's ill-defined at this point, but they're tasking a team to investigate it further.

It's unclear if FINA's new rules are going to be adopted by agencies like the NCAA, which currently permits people like Lia to compete in collegiate swimming. She made history this year by winning a national title in women's swimming, the 500-meter freestyle.

In any case, some people are welcoming the news ... including Caitlyn Jenner, who's been advocating for such change for a while now -- saying trans female athletes have an undeniable physical advantage over their cisgender competition, as have many others.

She wrote, "It worked! I took a lot of heat - but what’s fair is fair! If you go through male puberty you should not be able to take medals away from females. Period."

"Jeopardy!" champ Amy Schneider says she's gonna take Fox Sports at its word, that they did not intentionally cut out her first pitch at a Giants game celebrating Pride Day at the stadium.

Amy tells TMZ ... "They say the reason they misled their viewers was for cross-promotion, not anything to do with me, so I'll take them at their word." The director of the broadcast reached out to her personally to apologize and reiterate it had nothing to do with her identity. She believed him and accepted his apology.

ICYMI, Amy, the 1st openly transgender "Jeopardy!" champ, was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Dodgers/Giants game. Problem was ... Amy's pitch never made air. Instead, Fox Sports ran another first pitch from several days earlier ... at the hands of Kurt Busch.

Fox Sports said the video of that pitch was part of a promotional package for an upcoming NASCAR race in Northern California.

They made it clear ... the intention was not to disrespect Amy, adding first pitches are rarely aired on the Network during games.

There are doubters on social media who aren't buying the story, but Amy is taking the explanation at face value.

Reza Farahan says politicians have screwed up priorities, and clearly have no clue what goes on at drag shows since they're trying to make laws blocking kids from attending them.

We caught up with the former "Shahs of Sunset" star in L.A. and asked what his thoughts were about the new potential legislation in Texas and Florida ...  which would make it a crime for parents to bring their children with them to drag revues.

Reza says it's not just misguided, it's heartbreaking -- he doesn't understand why drag shows are being sexualized by folks who know nothing about them. He says, these shows are nothing but a group of people who are expressing themselves and entertaining people in their own way.

He adds, the shows are a form of art ... all about folks living their best lives and expressing love and happiness. Reza insisted, politicians simply love to sensationalize anything related to the LGBTQ+ community.

Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton recently said he was filing the potential bill after recent footage went viral of kids in Dallas attending a drag show.

Sue Bird -- a 4-time WNBA champion and star guard for the Seattle Storm -- says she's retiring ... announcing Thursday she's hanging up her sneakers for good at the end of this season.

"I’ve decided this will be my final year," said Bird, who shared a photo of her hoopin' as a youngster.

"I have loved every single minute, and still do, so gonna play my last year, just like this little girl played her first."

The 41-year-old, who was a 2-time NCAA champion at UConn, was picked #1 overall back in 2002 ... and has played every year since for the Storm.

In her 19 years in Seattle, she piled up 12 All-Star selections ... and became the WNBA's all-time assists leader as well as the league's all-time leader in starts.

Her retirement will mark truly the end of one of the greatest basketball careers ever -- as Bird is one of only six players ever to win an NCAA championship, a WNBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

Trick Daddy is super pissed at Ron DeSantis for Florida's myriad financial problems, calling the Governor a "white bigot" ... but he's also blaming voters, or lack thereof.

The "I'm a Thug" rapper is the latest guest on "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper," and he rips into Gov. DeSantis when asked what life is like these days in his home state.

Trick Daddy says he feels for all those seeing their rents raised by hundreds of dollars ... but he's not blaming President Biden, a la Jake Paul, and is instead focusing his rage on DeSantis.

Raised rents aren't the only bone Trick Daddy has to pick with DeSantis ... he's also going after the Governor for Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill and super strict abortion laws.

The way Trick Daddy sees it ... DeSantis, a prospective Republican candidate for president, is singling out all types of people and their ways of life with "racist and biased" legislation.

As for his rant about DeSantis being "from another country" -- we think TD's referring to the fact his ancestors were Italian immigrants in the early 20th century.

Rebel Wilson's coming out announcement is under a microscope because of what was happening BTS ... including a newspaper's attempt to force her to comment beforehand.

The Aussie actress -- who just revealed she's in a relationship with a woman -- responded to an outraged journalist from Down Under, who couldn't believe what the Sydney Morning Herald seems to be admitting ... namely, that they had RW over a barrel with the story.

The reporter wrote, "So apparently it wasn't @RebelWilson's choice to come out... The @smh/@theage have admitted to giving her a heads up 2 days in advance that they were going to 'out' her." She notes that openly gay men who work at SMH were involved too.

To that, Rebel wrote back ... "Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace ❤️" In other words, she appears to be confirming this perception of an attempt to out her publicly, before she was ready to do so herself.

The article in question -- which details what went into the process of trying to confirm the relationship -- comes across as somewhat angry about the fact that Rebel evaded their questions, which they say they made 2 days in advance, and scooped them herself.

The author writes of the decision to ask her team for comment ... "Big mistake. Wilson opted to gazump the story," adding ... "Considering how bitterly Wilson had complained about poor journalism standards when she successfully sued Woman’s Day for defamation, her choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming."

As a result, many have accused the outlet of trying to out Rebel ... but one of their editors, Bevan Shields, denied that characterization in a follow-up piece -- offering more context.

He says, "[W]e simply asked questions and as standard practice included a deadline for a response. I had made no decision about whether or what to publish, and the Herald’s decision about what to do would have been informed by any response Wilson supplied."