LGBT

CBS and "Big Brother" missed a chance to highlight an LGBTQ couple by deciding NOT to air castmate Michael reading a letter from his fiancé, Hayden Middleton.

Here's the deal ... Michael won Head of Household this week, which means he gets a letter from a loved one, but CBS didn't air video of Michael reading the note to his fellow 'BB' players.

Hayden tells TMZ ... he's upset his letter was not heard on TV because it would have been a good opportunity to highlight a monogamous, committed relationship at a time when there is a lot of negativity directed at the LGBTQ community.

Hayden tells us he doesn't think there was any ill intent from CBS and 'BB' ... but he's still disappointed because the last two HOH winners had their letters featured on TV.

CBS does not air every letter to an HOH winner, and this year only 2 of the 5 HOH winner letters made the final cut.

ESPN reporter M.A. Voepel -- who's been covering sports for the outlet for more than two decades -- has come out as transgender ... saying Tuesday, "I'm transitioning to male."

Voepel said he decided to open up about his true self this week because he's slated to receive the Naismith Hall of Fame's Gowdy Award next month -- an honor recognizing media members who have made great contributions to basketball -- and he wanted to be there "as authentic self."

"Fear can keep us paralyzed for decades, especially when we think we will lose all that is dear to us, including career," Voepel said.

"At some point, you realize you need to have faith that your happiness/well-being is worth pursuing, and also have faith in other people's kindness and grace. Grateful for a company that supports all of its employees, for terrific family and friends, and for societal progress."

Voepel, who formerly went by Mechelle Voepel, added, "Please feel free to call me Voepel, MV, Michael, Mike; I’m good with them all."

Voepel has had a huge career with ESPN after initially joining the company in 1996 ... covering the WNBA, women's college basketball, volleyball and much more.

"I may look and sound a little different," he said. "Glad to be who I've always been inside. Dedication to covering women’s sports, a lifelong joy as well as job, and admiration for all involved -- players, coaches, execs, fans, referees, colleagues -- that stays exactly the same. Thanks!"

Immediately following his announcement, several ESPN personalities congratulated him ... including T.J. Quinn, who wrote, "Proud to have you as a colleague."

President Biden's just declared monkeypox a public health emergency, and while it's already having a huge impact on gay communities, it could quickly spread outside that bubble ... according to a doctor on the front lines.

Dr. Anne Rimoin, a UCLA professor of epidemiology, joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" and revealed there's already been a spill-over between communities in the U.S., and that won't stop unless we take appropriate action.

She explains "an infection anywhere can be an infection anywhere" -- meaning, it's time for ALL Americans to draw the line before the virus becomes more prevalent in society, in general.

The World Health Organization's put Dr. Rimoin on its Emergency Committee to tackle the monkeypox crisis, and she says this virus has been a simmering problem for years in Africa ... where she's been doing research since the early 2000s.

She recalls a 2017 outbreak in Nigeria and the symptoms were different from the ones she'd seen prior, showing how it can mutate over time.

Machine Gun Kelly is not getting a warm welcome on his tour stop in Nebraska ... one of his buses was just tagged with graffiti, including a homophobic slur.

As you can see, someone spray-painted both sides of MGK's red tour bus ... with one side reading, "RAP DEVIL F*****." The other has an image of a penis ejaculating along the side of the bus.

MGK is playing a show Thursday at CHI Health Center in Omaha ... and folks who are there say the bus was tagged while it was parked on a curb downtown.

The rapper's brought at least 4 tour buses to Omaha ... one yellow, one red, one blue and one green ... but it appears only the red bus was tagged.

It's the latest incident on MGK's cross-country tour, where his opener is Willow Smith ... as we reported, a fan fainted in the crowd during Willow's set on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, but she stopped the show until the fan was moved to safety.

Demi Lovato has been more in touch with her feminine side lately ... so much so, she has decided to include "she/her" pronouns with "they/them."

It was a little over a year ago when Demi announced she was nonbinary, but just opened up about her own personal change on "The Spout Podcast" -- saying she now goes by the pronouns they/them/she/her.

Demi said, "Recently I've been feeling more feminine, and so I've adopted she/her again... But, I think what’s important is, like, nobody’s perfect. Everyone messes up pronouns at some point, and especially when people are learning, it’s just all about respect."

We're told Demi actually made the decision to include she/her back in April ... but this is the first time she's spoken about the change in depth.

Demi says last year she didn't necessarily feel like a woman or a man, when she was faced with a choice, like walking into a bathroom. Back then, she felt her masculine and feminine "energy" was balanced.

Billy Porter thinks the Supreme Court is going to strike down gay marriage just like abortion rights ... but he's got a feeling SCOTUS might stop short at Justice Clarence Thomas' interracial marriage.

We got Billy in NYC and asked how likely he thinks it is SCOTUS will keep rolling back the clock, and he believes nothing is safe when it comes to the highest court in the land.

Billy says SCOTUS is coming for pretty much everything and everybody, not just gays ... and the only thing not on the list is interracial marriage, for one specific reason.

BP's basically saying the fact Justice Thomas is married to a white woman, Ginni Thomas, is the only thing keeping interracial marriage from going the way of the dodo. Still, Billy's got a warning for Clarence.

We also asked Billy about GOP Congressman Glenn Thompson, who voted against protecting same-sex marriage ... then turned around and attended his gay son's wedding.

TikTokers Nicky Champa and Pierre Boo's Bell Canyon home has been listed for sale ... and it's got quite the price tag for whoever wants to pick up what the influencer couple once called home.

Tucked away in the hills near Calabasas, Nicky and Pierre's $2.25M house has great views of the canyon during the day and city lights at night ... the building's got floor-to-ceiling windows to take it all in.

The 4.4K square foot pad comes with a 3-car garage, a temperature-controlled wine room and an elevator to bring you to any floor in the house -- whether you're unable to go upstairs or just don't feel like making the climb.

The outside's got the obligatory pool with several patio areas nearby for some tanning and R&R.

The surrounding area's got a ton of stuff to do as well -- it has a park, tennis courts, hiking trails and spots for horseback riding.

It's quite the place for a TikTok couple ... for those unaware, Nicky and Pierre have a combined follower count of over 24M on the platform, jumping on all sorts of viral trends, challenges and dances.

Rebekah Schwartz of The Agency holds the listing.

Dave Chappelle recently hit a minor setback when protestors essentially forced his Minneapolis show to switch venues -- but Fat Joe thinks Dave's critics should realize he's an equal opportunity offender.

We caught up with the Don Cartagena Monday in NYC on Monday, and he said comedians like Dave Chappelle always intend for their jokes to hit the funny bones without striking emotional nerves. He also feels Dave tells jokes about everyone, not one particular group more than another.

Call it a game of Comedy Operation ... Joe acknowledges there are sensitive subjects to address -- especially within the LGBTQ+ community -- but he feels laughter is the best medicine for most issues.

Minnesota protestors, particularly angry over Dave's Netflix special lineage, successfully thwarted the comedic legend from doing his show at First Avenue, forcing him to move to a new venue with just a few hours notice. Joe wishes those angry about Dave would understand love outweighs hate when it comes to comedy.

Quidditch is making a switch -- the real-life sport inspired by the Harry Potter series has changed its name to Quadball ... in an effort to distance itself from author J.K. Rowling's "anti-trans positions."

Months after Major League Quidditch and U.S. Quidditch announced their plans to rebrand ... the move was made official in a statement this week, with the orgs. saying, "Today marks a monumental step in the history of our sport, and it marks an equally big step for Major League Quadball."

Back in December, the orgs. stated two reasons behind changing the name -- one being the "quidditch" trademark being owned by Warner Bros. ... and the other being the fictional version of the game's creator's controversial beliefs.

"If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction," Rowling said in 2020. "If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth."

Rowling's comments sparked backlash from Harry Potter stars like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson ... as well as countless fans of the series.

The league says it prides itself on being "one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity" due to a gender maximum rule, which limits the number of players of the same gender playing at one time.

DaBaby’s heinous remarks about HIV patients cost his Dua Lipa feature maximum exposure, but according to one of his Billion Dollar Baby artists ... he still made off with a pretty penny.

Stunna 4 Vegas poured the tea, revealing -- at least according to him -- DaBaby got $350,000 last year for appearing on DL's “Levitating (Remix).”

In his VladTV interview, Stunna went on to vouch for DaBaby’s character, saying he was in good standing with all his fans and funds.

During DaBaby’s “cancelation” period, he says DB’s cash and car flow didn’t stop. They say there's no such thing as "bad" publicity, and that's totally true in this case ... if Stunna's stats are accurate.

Remember, as that controversy was exploding ... DaBaby had dropped a Lil Wayne collab that got him back on the Billboard chart. The song peaked at No. 2 and went 4x platinum.

But he eventually had his credit snatched from the Billboard charts after the July 2021 backlash from Rolling Loud engulfed the internet.

Dua immediately ripped into DB … citing how she was “surprised and horrified” at her collaborator’s words and distanced herself from the situation in a fiery response.

Dave Chappelle getting an Emmy nomination for a stand-up special some call transphobic is emboldening the transgender community -- but not so much in the way you might think.

We spoke to Ashlee Marie Preston in L.A. to get her reaction to the comedian getting a Primetime Emmy nod for Netflix's "The Closer" -- which, as you know, was the subject of much controversy last year ... and even spurred Netflix employee walkouts in protest.

Preston -- who isn't a Netflix employee, but still helped organize the walkout -- tells us she and other members of the transgender and queer community have an action plan ... the details of which she's purposely keeping under wraps, but promises we'll see soon as a response.

Give the clip a watch ... it sounds like Ashlee and Co. are about to roll out a campaign or an announcement of sorts that advocates for LGBT-friendly content -- something she says the industry needs more of to help combat the POVs Dave expressed in "Closer," which she considers harmful.

Preston also tells us that instead of focusing on Chappelle ... she encourages anyone who supports their cause to turn their attention to Emmy nominees who help tell their story -- folks like Bowen Yang and others, who are also up for awards this year.

It's also interesting to hear Preston's approach this time around -- rather than being triggered and reacting in haste, she and her colleagues appear to be going about the response much more strategically.

Senator Ted Cruz seems to be telegraphing what many believe the Supreme Court might do next -- namely, overturn legalized gay marriage ... this on the heels of Roe v Wade.

The Texas legislator expressed his own personal disapproval of the landmark decision in Obergefell v Hodges back in 2015 -- a ruling that made gay marriage legal throughout the entire United States ... and which some worry might be on the chopping block soon.

Watch ... during a recent appearance on 'The Cloakroom' podcast via Verdict+, Cruz says he thinks the High Court overreached in its authority back then, ushering in a new right that isn't explicitly stated in the Constitution -- TC, of course, is a strict constructionist.

While he doesn't go further to say anything but his viewpoint on the matter -- saying that it was the wrong decision -- the Twitter-sphere is, no doubt, up in arms after seeing this.

The theory ... the Supreme Court isn't going to just stop at abortion -- that the Justices might try and overturn a lot of old cases tied to privacy -- including Obergefell, if not more. Of course, in order for that to happen ... a case touching on this must be brought forth, of which there doesn't seem to be any right now on the court docket in the near future.

Still, the fact a case could potentially make its way to SCOTUS is a very real possibility ... and with this current Justice lineup, they might be inclined to undo years of precedent.

Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly said he thought the court had a duty to go back and overturn a number of cases that were in the same legal ballpark as Roe ... and it sounds like Senator Cruz is onboard with that.

Bette Midler has embraced an argument some are invoking to address the abortion crisis in the country -- bringing up transgender people to make a point ... a lightning rod one at that.

The actress has been very active on Twitter these past couple days, blasting the Supreme Court for reversing Roe v. Wade -- mostly hitting out at Clarence Thomas, it seems -- and in the same breath ... she's speaking up on women's rights. Emphasis on that first part.

BM writes, "WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us 'women' anymore; they call us 'birthing people' or 'menstruators', and even 'people with vaginas'!"

She adds fervently ... "Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!" Of course, that gets to trans/non-binary people ... and some are calling this POV transphobic.

Interestingly, her comment piggybacks on a now-viral op-ed published in the NYT this weekend, titled "The Far Right And Far Left Agree on One Thing: Women Don't Count" ... in which the author makes similar arguments about cisgender women being "erased" on the extremes of both sides of the aisle ... either for inclusivity's sake, or outright oppression.

While some might agree, others say it's a false equivalency to compare trying to be sensitive to trans people/using mindful language to what the GOP seems to be doing (banning abortions) ... suggesting one is clearly a far more serious and dire threat than the other is.

In any case, we know where Bette stands on the issue. She seems to be very much an old-school feminist who's pretty pissed off about all this. One crisis at a time, though, perhaps.

Ricky Martin has been accused of domestic violence in Puerto Rico -- although it appears the alleged victim may be someone other than his spouse ... this per several reports.

Multiple Spanish outlets that operate in PR -- including Telemundo -- reported Saturday that a protective order is in the process of being filed and executed against the pop star in a municipality near San Juan ... citing law enforcement officials who confirmed the complaint falls within their Law 54 statute, which deals with DV.

The reports state an anonymous person -- who goes unnamed -- recently appeared before a judge in their own right to seek the TRO without going to the police first and without Ricky being present ... and the order was apparently granted based on the evidence presented.

The court reportedly scheduled a hearing on the matter between both parties for July 21.

Some reports are saying the alleged victim is a male, while others suggest it's a female. One outlet, claiming to have seen the docs themselves, says they read in part ... "The parties were related for 7 months. They separated 2 months ago, but the petitioner does not accept the separation. He calls him frequently. In addition, the petitioner has seen him hanging around his residence on at least 3 occasions. The petitioner fears for his safety."

That certainly doesn't sound like Ricky's husband of 5 years, Jwan Yosef -- with whom Ricky shares four children. The purported order goes on to reportedly say this ... "the petitioning party demonstrated that there is a substantial possibility of immediate risk of abuse."

As a result of the order reportedly being granted, Ricky has to steer clear of this person -- including avoiding all communication -- until this can get cleared up before a judge. As of Saturday, cops in Puerto Rico told AP they had not located Ricky to serve him.

Of course, Ricky has several residences ... including property in Puerto Rico. It's interesting this is surfacing now -- days after he was sued by his ex-manager, who claimed to have knowledge of a "career-ending allegation" from which she says she helped shield him.

Neither Ricky nor Jwan have commented on the reports. We've reached out to Ricky's reps and attorneys, so far no word back.

Nelson Piquet not only used racist language toward Lewis Hamilton -- the 3-time Formula 1 champion also issued a homophobic phrase while discussing the Mercedes superstar in 2021 ... a newly resurfaced clip shows.

69-year-old Piquet was recently banned from the F1 paddock over his controversial comments about Hamilton in an interview with Motorsports Talk last year ... when he, according to a translation by CNN Brazil, referred to the 7-time champ as a "little n*****."

Piquet is now facing even more backlash for comments made in a separate interview from last November ... in which he used the same word to describe Lewis, while also dropping a homophobic phrase.

As we previously reported, Piquet -- whose daughter, Kelly, dates Max Verstappen -- clarified his initial controversial comment in a statement this week ... claiming the term is used in Brazilian Portuguese to say "guy" or "person" and he had no racist intent behind his words.

Max also backed Piquet ... admitting what he said was wrong, but claiming the racing legend is no racist.

The new clip will certainly cause a stir within the sport ... which has made a push in recent years to welcome fans and drivers from all different backgrounds.

In fact, Sebastian Vettel said in an interview earlier this month F1 would welcome its first openly gay driver ... and Mercedes debuted a rainbow "Pride Star" for the month of June to raise awareness for the LGBTQ+ community.

Lewis has yet to respond -- the drivers are currently in the middle of practice for the British Grand Prix this weekend -- but he will certainly address it when the time comes.

Julia Garner -- who has been tapped to play Madonna in her upcoming biopic -- shows she's got the Material Girl vibe ... showing up at a drag show, and even getting in on the action!

Drag Queen Ginger Douglas tells TMZ ... Julia was having a blast at Mickey's in WeHo during a performance of "Showgirls," put on by "RuPaul's Drag Race" star Morgan McMichaels.

Julia, her hubby Mark Foster from Foster The People and the rest of her pals sat front row ... Morgan even pulled her up on stage, congratulating her for her Madge flick ... and the crowd went wild.

Julia stayed for the whole show -- feeling the performances and even tipping the drag queens. She stayed after the show to take pics with members of the audience and some of the performers.