LGBT

"Gossip Girl" star Jordan Alexander isn't shedding any tears or holding a grudge after the reboot series was canceled ... instead, she's finding the positive in an awesome experience.

We caught up with Jordan shortly after word got out that HBO Max wasn't bringing back the show for a 3rd season ... which, naturally, sent some fans into a frenzy.

Jordan obviously isn't thrilled the show got canned, but tells us she's looking on the bright side of it all ... telling us starring in the series was the greatest experience of her life.

Our photog asked if canceling the revival show with such a diverse cast felt like more of a disservice, to which Jordan said she was just happy it happened at all.

The show's creator, Joshua Safran, seemed to share the same sentiment. In an IG post, he wrote, "The EPs and I will forever be grateful to the network and studio for their faith and support; the writers for their devious brains and dexterous talent; the superstar cast for being the greatest of collaborators and friends; and the crew for their hard work, dedication and love for the project. This was honestly the greatest set I ever worked on, top to bottom."

Sam Smith's new music video is stirring the pot for its NSFW content -- but it's also sparking debate on an interesting question ... is sexuality just a straight person's game???

The nonbinary singer dropped the visual treatment for their latest single "I'm Not Here To Make Friends," which is featured on their recently-released album, "Gloria." Safe to say, 'INHTMF' is in your face when it comes to showing off skin and sexually suggestive scenes.

Sam is depicted in several eye-popping outfits, including one where their chest is on display with nipple pasties in place. There are also moments where SS is being sprayed in the face with water ... which kinda looks like something typically left behind closed doors.

Of course, the backup dancers and extras are flaunting their stuff in scantily-clad getups all throughout ... so, objectively, it checks the box for a traditionally provocative project.

Now, the controversy ... Sam has been trending all weekend over this video, mostly invoking outrage from people on the right -- who feel like it's wildly inappropriate ... especially as it pertains to age restrictions and kids who might stumble across it on YouTube.

The argument from that end is that 'I'm Not Here' is just a hyper-sexualized demonstration of perversion for the hell of it, masked as body positivity and LGBTQ+ empowerment.

Of course, not everyone sees it that way. In fact, the rebuttal coming from the other side is ... where's all the outrage when we see cisgender heterosexual men and women doing the same thing (if not worse) in music videos of the past??? It's a fair question to pose.

One individual broke down this apparent double standard quite well on TikTok -- influencer, Max Hovey came to Sam's defense and said the backlash is misguided and misplaced.

Basically, the idea that someone who doesn't fit society's conventional beauty standards can't openly express their sexuality on camera without flack -- while others can get away with it unscathed -- is screwed up ... according to Max and others who agree with him.

FWIW, Sam doesn't seem too bothered by all the discourse -- they're continuing to promote the hell out of this thing and posting clips and stills from the video without reservation.

Friends of the late Stephen "tWitch" Boss are calling out his "pal" Todrick Hall ... after he suggested the pressure around Ellen DeGeneres' workplace scandal might have been a factor in tWitch's suicide.

For those unaware, Todrick made the implication this week while promoting a new reality show he's doing ... telling Page Six he believed the public calling on the DJ to stop supporting Ellen took too big of a toll.

Referring to tWitch opting to take his life, Todrick added, "I don’t know what was going on in his life that may [have led] him to make that decision but I do understand."

A source close to tWitch tells TMZ ... it's extremely negligent and self-serving of Todrick to assume he knows what led to tWitch's death. The source also found it unfortunate he would speculate, especially while promoting his own project.

We're told tWitch loved his time on "Ellen," and had a ton of respect while working on the series ... pointing out he was even named co-executive producer in the final season.

As we reported, tWitch left a suicide note behind when he passed, which we're told referenced past challenges ... without going into specifics.

You'll recall, Ellen was accused of creating a toxic work environment while the show was running, as several former employees alleged racism and intimidation. tWitch, however, stood by the talk show host.

Ellen also expressed her intense heartbreak after his death ... telling people to love each other as she continued to mourn in late December.

While Beyonce's concert in Dubai stirred outrage from some fans -- due to the country's anti-LGBTQ+ laws -- her pops looks at it differently, telling us his daughter has incredible power to bring people together ... from all walks of life.

Mathew Knowles tells TMZ ... Queen Bey united a really diverse crowd with her incredible performance overseas, bringing people closer, as she does best.

He says people who weren't at the show might not understand -- adding she gave respect and got respect back from the country, calling it an amazing moment.

MK notes his daughter's always stood for inclusiveness, and believes everyone was there for love. He adds she'd never do something to deliberately hurt someone.

As for the criticism about her NOT performing hits from "Renaissance," Mathew says hold tight ... Beyonce IS planning a tour, and she'll announce it when she's ready.

TMZ caught up with Bey's mom, Tina Knowles, Monday -- telling us her daughter was pretty nervous before her first big show in years, but notes she pulled it off and it was a great trip. She had less to say about the controversy, though.

As we reported, Beyonce's show brought down the house over the weekend as she performed to a packed house for the opening of the new Atlantis resort, and reportedly got paid $24 million.

The backlash, which Beyonce rarely faces, centered around some in the LGBTQ+ community feeling she'd "sold out" by performing in a "homophobic dictatorship."

Mathew says that's a narrow-minded view of what went down.

Beyonce's weekend concert ruffled a few feathers in the LGBTQ+ community, but Ts Madison doesn't see anything wrong with her getting a fat check in Dubai ... because, first and foremost, she says Bey is loyal to her fans.

The actress and activist joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," dismissing claims Queen Bey "sold out" by performing in the UAE -- where there are firm anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Madison believes most people, even those criticizing Beyonce, would jump at a $24 million payday in Dubai. In fact, she says many people in the LGBTQ+ community already do travel there ... whether it be for work or vacay. So, the whole sellout label seems hypocritical to her.

And, Madison points out Beyonce's been an ally for years ... and doesn't think she'd do something like this to hurt the very group to which she dedicated her latest album, "Renaissance."

As we reported, Beyonce made it a truly grand opening for a new Atlantis resort ... doing a 90-minute set with multiple costume changes, an orchestra and a bunch of her classic hits.

Folks banging on the concert, feel she ditched "her own progressive values" by performing in a "homophobic dictatorship" -- but Madison says those fans should separate politics from the concert ... just as Beyonce seems to have done.

Rep. George Santos did, in fact, dress in women's clothing as a young man -- but don't go calling him a drag queen now ... 'cause he's still rejecting that label, it seems.

The newly-elected New York congressman touched down in the Big Apple Saturday on a flight from D.C., and sure enough ... the media was there to greet him, peppering him with questions about his many scandals and apparent lies -- including the drag thing.

Check out the video ... Santos seems agitated that he's being asked about the same stuff over and over -- but frankly, his explanations to this point have been less than adequate.

Finally, when someone asks him about recently-resurfaced photos that seem to show him dressed in drag ... he cops to it, saying he was "just having fun" out there and that it's much ado about nothing. He also made sure to specifically denounce the term "drag queen."

It's great Santos -- who's openly gay -- is finally being truthful ... but the fact this is basically a 180 from his outright denial appears to be in line with an emerging pattern with him. Namely, he tends to flatly challenge stories about him as false -- only to recant later.

Of course, the larger issue is that he made up a lot of stuff on his resume -- both academically and professionally -- in the process of getting elected as a Representative.

"The Real Friends of WeHo" star Joey Zauzig is clapping back on behalf of his co-star Todrick Hall ... urging folks not to judge a book by its cover, despite calls to boycott the new MTV show over Todrick's casting.

We got Joey out in L.A. Friday and asked him about Todrick, who's under fire for allegedly not being a good guy. Todrick's been accused in the past of not paying rent on his houses and stiffing former employees on money owed to them. People on social media are calling for a boycott of the show because of these accusations.

Joey tells us anyone boycotting the show because of Todrick's participation is simply a "sore loser." He says the best folks were chosen for the show ... and that includes Todrick.

Joey acknowledged the controversy surrounding the former "Celebrity Big Brother" contestant ... saying there could be some truth to everything but he chose to give Todrick a clean slate after filming the show with him and he has no regrets about it.

Joey doubled down saying ... Todrick even has receipts to prove all the accusations aren't what people claim. He says everyone else should give him a clean slate and he believes that'll happen once folks get to see him in a different light on the new series.

Leslie Jordan was not killed as the result of a car accident, instead, he suffered a "sudden cardiac dysfunction" which resulted in his death and caused him to crash.

The L.A. County Coroner's Office just released its findings from the October 24 incident. TMZ broke the story -- first responders raced to the scene after Jordan had crashed his BMW into the side of a building in Hollywood.

At the time, investigators told us they believed Jordan suffered some sort of medical emergency before the crash ... and now that has been confirmed.

The coroner's report states Leslie was taking heart medication at the time of his death -- and his heart was in really bad shape -- with one of his arteries 80% blocked, and another 50% blocked.

We were first to report Leslie had complained of shortness of breath in the weeks leading up to his death, and had an appointment with a heart doctor scheduled in the near future.

Leslie's death left Hollywood stunned, including his costars on "Call Me Kat" -- the show he was driving to when he died.

Rep. George Santos has yet another past alias, at least according to an ex-friend in Brazil who's posted a photo of him in drag ... which is interesting because Santos has spoken out against drag shows in America.

The ex-friend, Eula Rochard, posted a pic from 2008 which she says shows Santos as a drag queen named "Kitara." Eula told a website called The Handbasket her experience with Santos was that he lied a lot ... a now oft-told tale about the embattled freshman U.S. Congressman from NY.

Eula says they met when Santos was 16 or 17, and going by the name Anthony. He's already copped to previous aliases of Anthony Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky.

As for his "Kitara" days, Eula says the pic was taken at a Pride Parade, but she says he was not a pro drag performer -- "George did not have the glamour for that.” Ouch!

The more relevant point here is that present-day Santos -- who is openly gay -- has backed Florida's Don't Say Gay bill, and aligned himself with Republicans who claim drag queens and drag shows groom children.

Eula says she posted the pic after seeing Santos on TV, and friends doubted her when she said the Congressman and "Kitara" were the same person.

The "Kitara" pic would add a new wrinkle of hypocrisy to the tapestry of Santos' lies. As we've reported, he's already admitted to fabricating details of his education, previous jobs and family heritage. He's also been accused of falsely claiming his mother was in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

While some members of Congress have called for Santos to resign in light of all the lies that came out since he was elected in November, he's refused to do so ... and GOP leadership is still backing him, even appointing him to committees.

We've reached out to Santos' office for comment on the "Kitara" pic, but no word back yet.

Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to show up for his team's warmups on Tuesday night ... boycotting Philadelphia's decision to have its players wear rainbow-colored jerseys that supported the LGBTQ+ community.

Provorov, who ultimately ended up playing in the game after the Flyers switched back to their normal uniforms, said after the contest he made the decision due to his Russian Orthodox beliefs.

"I respect everybody and I respect everybody's choices," the 26-year-old said. "My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That's all I'm going to say."

Reporters attempted to ask Provorov further questions about the decision ... but he shut them down, saying, "Did you not hear what I just said? Can you respect that?"

Flyers head coach John Tortorella, meanwhile, seemed to back his player's choice ... telling media members after the game he never once considered not playing Provorov, despite the pregame protest.

"It's one thing I respect about Provy," the 64-year-old manager said. "He's always true to himself. And, so, that's where we're at with that."

The Flyers opted to wear the pregame kits -- as well as wrap their sticks with rainbow-colored tape -- in order to promote inclusivity in a sport that's historically struggled with diversity. Philly auctioned off its players' pregame items after the game, donating proceeds to groups who are helping grow hockey in diverse communities. Provorov was the only Flyer who didn't have memorabilia up in the auction.

The team spoke generically about the issue in a statement just before the game ... saying, "The Philadelphia Flyers organization is committed to inclusivity and is proud to support the LGBTQ+ community. Many of our players are active in their support of local LGBTQ+ organizations, and we were proud to host our annual Pride Night again this year. The Flyers will continue to be strong advocates for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community."

The NHL has yet to comment on it all.

Provorov ended up playing a team-high 22:45 minutes in the game against the Ducks, which Philadelphia won, 5-2.

A viral article out of the UK is posing an interesting request -- pleading with the public (and the media) to stop using the word "queer" ... as the author apparently views it as a slur.

The brief opinion piece -- which also seems to be a letter to the editor -- appeared in the Guardian this week ... and the headline simply read, "Please don’t use the Q-word." It's written by a fella named Karl Lockwood, who says he's a gay man of nearly 7 decades.

In the 113-word editorial, Lockwood hones into a Guardian piece written last week, which notes that England and Wales had started to count trans and nonbinary people in their census for the first time ever -- while pointing out only 15,000 ID'd specifically as queer.

He adds, "I suspect that many of the others, like me, consider the term to be insulting and derogatory, and certainly not 'reclaimed'. I am a gay man of 66 years with many friends and acquaintances, and know no one who would refer to themselves as queer. It would seem a small minority of activists has encouraged the media to use the word without considering its offensiveness to many people. You wouldn’t use the N-word, so don’t use the Q-word."

In other words, he's referring to a time when "queer" was used to bully others -- which he feels qualifies it as hate speech ... and thus, warrants its censoring in public discourse.

It's an interesting argument, but most of Twitter seems to strongly disagree with this guy ... with a lot of folks on the bird app calling it cloaked "TERF" talk that only serves to erase queer people from the larger conversation. Some also think it targets transgender folks.

Of course, there's also the issue of comparing the use of "queer" to the n-word, which has people fired up. Many say the juxtaposition is apples to oranges -- and that conflating the two is a huge disservice to Black people, not to mention LGBTQ+ people of color.

Former 'Bachelor' Colton Underwood is hoping Chris Harrison's past drama, resulting in an abrupt exit from the show, is water under the bridge ... but admits the former host might be doin' better since he left.

We got Colton at LAX Thursday and he's got nothing but love for the guy ... but check out his response when asked about a possible Chris Harrison comeback tour.

Colton's gunning for everyone involved to be at peace -- and hopes the matter's been dealt with and wrapped up behind the curtain.

For those unaware, Chris unloaded his thoughts about his exit this week on his new podcast, "The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever" ... saying he was heartbroken and gutted over the situation -- adding, “I was embarrassed. I was mad at myself."

As we reported, Chris was pushed out of the show after defending former 'Bachelor' contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for attending a plantation-themed party while in college.

Bella Ramsey is opening up about how she identifies ... telling the world she's gender-fluid.

The "Last Of Us Star" talked about identity in an interview with The New York Times, saying ... "I guess my gender has always been very fluid. Someone would call me 'she' or 'her' and I wouldn't think about it, but I knew that if someone called me 'he' it was a bit exciting."

While Bella says she would identify as "nonbinary" if given the option, she says she's "very much just a person." She says she doesn't put a lot of weight into pronouns, but doesn't like "being gendered."

Bella's known for playing female characters on HBO series ... she's Ellie in "The Last of Us" and was Lyanna Mormont on "Game of Thrones."

The mother of one of Jeffrey Dahmer's victims is pissed Evan Peters won a Golden Globe for portraying the serial killer on Netflix ... she says he should've paid tribute to the victims.

Shirley, the mother of Dahmer victim Tony Hughes, tells TMZ ... Evan should have used his acceptance speech to mention the families who are still suffering from Dahmer's crimes, or to say Hollywood should put an end to telling stories about killers and glorifying them.

Evan won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series for his work playing Jeffrey Dahmer in the Netflix miniseries "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" ... and in his acceptance speech, he told the audience he hoped something good would come from his win, and the series.

Shirley's scoffed ... saying nothing good will come from Evan's award for the Netflix series. She says it just adds to the grief for the families of the people Dahmer killed, replaying the tragedy over and over.

Tony's mom also had this to say about Evan's big night ... "There's a lot of sick people around the world, and people winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going and this makes sick people thrive on the fame."

Also in his speech, Evan mentioned how hard it was to do the Dahmer series ... but Shirley's questioning why he took the role in the first place. She says he shouldn't have played the role out of respect for the families still living with heartbreak from losing loved ones.

Bottom line for Shirley ... "It's a shame that people can take our tragedy and make money. The victims never saw a cent. We go through these emotions every day."

The Joker gets pregnant in a new comic series they just rolled out -- which is, expectedly, drawing some outrage and backlash among a certain demographic ... can you guess who?

The latest story about the Clown Prince of Darkness comes from DC's 'The Man Who Stopped Laughing' series, which explores different plots and subplots for the Joker ... and some aren't even canonical, including this one about him growing a baby bump.

It dropped a few days ago, and people immediately noticed that writer Matthew Rosenberg and cartoonist Carmine Di Giandomenico concocted a tale about Joker wanting an heir, but one that was of his DNA. So, he starts to pursue female super wizardress Zatanna.

Of course, she wants nothing to do with the Joker ... so she casts a spell on him that guarantees no one else will ever bare his offspring, but it backfires -- making it so Joker gives birth all by himself, via vomiting as readers eventually find out. Along the way, the comic strip depicts him with a huge belly and getting checked on gynecologically.

In the end, the Joker's "baby" is a mutated version of himself ... and they're both enamored with one another. That's about all there is to the entry, and yet -- it's caused a lot of feathers to be ruffled in conservative circles, per usual.

Some on Twitter are accusing DC of trying to push LGBT-friendly narratives onto their base ... which they say has been going on for a while, through decisions like making Robin and Superman gay in some of their newer comics. Others, of course, saw that as progress.

BTW, the word "trans" is never mentioned in this latest iteration ... but that doesn't seem to have clicked with this crowd. They see what they wanna see, and they see trans Joker.

"Stranger Things" star Noah Schnapp has come out as gay.

The 18-year-old made the announcement Thursday on TikTok with a video of himself and text that reads, "When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was 'we know.'"

Interestingly enough, he also included the caption, "I guess I'm more similar to will than I thought."

Schnapp plays Will Byers on "Stranger Things" and fan speculation over the years has been that the character is gay, as it's clear he has a thing for Mike Wheeler on the show ... so it seems Schnapp is also confirming the fan theory.

Schnapp and his "Stranger Things" costar Millie Bobby Brown are super close -- the two hang out all the time and have appeared on late-night talk shows together over the years.