LGBT

The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warm-up jerseys for Pride Night on Sunday, according to a report ... citing security concerns for their Russian players after the country passed an anti-LGBTQ law making it illegal to promote "gay propaganda" in Russia.

According to the Associated Press, the Blackhawks -- who've worn Pride warmup jerseys before -- ultimately decided against wearing the jerseys this season for the April 12 celebration after consulting with security officials ... who took into account president Vladimir Putin's newly-expanded law which makes it illegal for anyone to promote gay relationships as "normal."

Of course, the Blackhawks call Chicago home ... but the team has several Russian players on the roster, including defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who is a Moscow native. There are also players on the team with family members living in Russia.

Chicago's decision comes just days after San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer refused to participate in his team's Pride event, saying his Christian beliefs won't allow him to wear a Pride-themed jersey.

“I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him," Reimer said. "I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness.

"In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life. I strongly believe that every person has value and worth, and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey."

As for the Blackhawks, they have yet to officially announce the decision.

"Last of Us" actor Storm Reid isn't letting a bunch of anti-LGBTQ+ internet trolls rain on her parade, telling us no matter how much they bash the show's inclusive episodes ... she knows it's important to tell those stories.

We caught up with the talented young actress Friday at LAX. If you missed it, she had a guest role on episode 7 of the insanely popular HBO series where she played Riley, the best friend and love interest of the show's star Ellie ... played by Bella Ramsey.

Of course, the episode received a ton of praise, but there were also lots of people who thought it was unnecessary for "Last of Us" to include a lesbian plot.

Storm says not only are the stories told on "Last of Us" very real, but they're also purposeful ... and she's choosing to ignore the folks who can't see that.

Those naysayers flocked to the show's public forums to leave negative reviews, and even went so far as to rank it as one of "the worst" episodes of the season. Perhaps not shockingly, they also hated the third episode, which featured two gay characters.

BTW ... Storm says if there's ever an opportunity for Riley to come back for season two, she's 100% in for an encore!

UFC fighter Jeff Molina is opening up on his sexuality after a video showing him performing a sex act on another man was leaked to social media this week ... saying he was stripped of the opportunity to announce he is bisexual the way he wanted.

The 25-year-old shared an emotional statement to Twitter on Friday ... saying, "Not the way I wanted to do this but the chance to do it when I was ready was taken from me."

"I've tried to keep my dating life private from social media," Molina continued. "I've dated girls my whole life and suppressed feelings I had throughout high school being on the wrestling team, throughout college pursuing MMA, and even after making part of the dream happen and getting into the UFC."

"The thought of my buddies, teammates and ppl I look up to looking at me different let alone treating me different for something I can't control was something I couldn't fathom."

Molina -- 11-2 so far in his career and 3-0 in UFC -- has previously shown support for the LGBTQ+ community ... wearing the Pride Month shorts for his fight in June 2022.

Molina -- who's currently suspended for his alleged role in a betting scheme -- said he was not planning to come out during his career ... adding he wanted to be known for his skills rather than being the "'bi UFC fighter' that I'm sure would just be translated to 'gay UFC fighter.'"

Molina's announcement makes him the first openly LGBTQ+ male member of the UFC.

"At the end of the day I know my character, morals, and who I am as a person. As much as I'm getting hated/s****** on I'm getting an equal amount of support & it means a f*** ton."

Slim Thug’s key to staying rich is avoiding spending sprees on fancy clothes -- the Houston Boss Hogg admits he has no issue rocking discount threads ... even in da club.

Slim gave his fans a masterclass -- with more than a dash of homophobia, though -- as he chastised dudes who flock to clubs wearing the same expensive designer outfits.

In his post Thursday, he said he keeps it playa for just pennies, and proved it ... yanking the price tags of his top and shorts to reveal he'd dropped less than $20 for both.

Seems like price isn't his only issue -- he also mentioned gay designers make all those high-priced clothes. Basically, Slim thinks Dior and Gucci shirts make people look gay.

Um, WTH? 🤔

Hard to take his advice on saving cash, since he also bragged about dropping millions on jewelry to distract from his frugal fashion choices.

ST says he's seen many rappers go broke splurging on their wardrobes. Yeah, we're sure it's the clothing bill and not the bling.

Anyway, fans found Slim's message confusing ... considering the rapper's selling cargo pants for $75 on his own website!!!

Lil Nas X is known to crack jokes online, but even the "Old Town Road" rapper knew his joke about transitioning crossed a line ... so he's issuing an apology.

LNX had originally posted a photo of social medial influencer Glow Princess, and quipped "the surgery was a success" ... causing many clueless fans to believe he'd actually undergone a gender-changing procedure. 😬

When fans in the know began firing off angry tweet after angry tweet, Lil Nas owned up to his blunder.

He responded ... "Apologies to the trans community i def handled that situation with anger instead of considering why it was not cool ... much love to you guys. sorry."

Diplo says he's received oral sex from a man, and while he doesn't necessarily consider that gay ... he does admit he might be into dudes just a little bit.

The famed DJ was on Emily Ratajkowski's podcast when he dished the deets ... saying he's 100% sure he's "gotten a blow*** from a guy before" -- although, he can't recall the details.

What he does know for certain is that act, in and of itself, doesn't make him LGBTQ, per se.

Here's the line he personally draws -- it wasn't "gay" because he didn't make eye contact with the guy. 🤔

ER presses him quite a bit in the extended convo, noting he'd told her off-camera he might be a "little gay" -- however, he eventually settled on he's probably "not not gay."

Diplo also said he could see himself dating a couple guys long-term as "life partners" -- but, we also know he's very publicly dated women.

Despite the course of their convo, he stopped short of labeling his sexuality. So, what have we learned? The eyes have it, for Diplo!

Lukas Gage has made quite a name for himself in Hollywood -- carving out a career that, oftentimes, includes him playing LGBTQ+ characters ... even though he won't self-identify.

The actor recently did an interview with NYT, where he was asked about backlash he's received over the years from people and critics who say he's stealing opportunities from others who are actually in the LGBT community -- while playing coy about his own sexuality.

The interviewer referenced a moment last year where he responded to someone on Twitter accusing him of exactly that, to which he replied at the time ... "u don't know my alphabet."

In response to pressure about labeling himself now and going forward, Lukas says he gets it from all ends, explaining ... "All the time. An agent that dropped me was like, 'Stop dyeing your hair, stop wearing weird clothes and pick a lane: gay, bi or straight. It’s too confusing.'"

He adds, "I understand representation and voices that need to be heard, but I don’t want to do anything on anyone’s accord but my own. Let me do it when I’m ready. And it’s acting. I feel like everyone should get the opportunity to play whatever they want."

LG has portrayed LGBTQ+ characters and/or LGBT-adjacent in shows like 'White Lotus,' 'You,' 'Euphoria,' 'Love, Victor' and in movies like 'Down Low.' The dude has bared it all too on camera, including one from 'WL' where he stripped down for a racy gay sex scene.

Amid all the speculation on where he lands, he's also been rumored to have been romantically involved with some famous dudes in Hollywood ... but he hasn't confirmed anything on the record thus far ... just leaving it to speculation.

Pedro Pascal says he's aware that this new hit HBO show, "The Last of Us," is getting compared to another 'Us' series ... and his response to that is, take it up with the writers.

We got the TV star Friday in WeHo, where he was signing autographs and itching to leave. Before he did, though, PP chopped it up with us for a bit ... and we asked him why 'LOU' keeps on introducing great characters that we all love, only to kill 'em off immediately?

If that sorta gut-wrenching TV sounds familiar, it's because it is ... AKA, NBC's "This Is Us," which is a real tear-jerker and also tends to write out characters at a moment's notice.

Pedro says he thinks the pain viewers are experiencing by briefly meeting/losing onscreen faves like Bill and Frank (RIP), Tess (also RIP) and most recently, Riley (maybe RIP?) is actually worth it. He doesn't really explain why ... but perhaps he knows, that's just good TV.

When we pressed a bit further, he kinda just shrugged his shoulders and said ... hey, I just do the acting. In other words, the fleeting characters thing isn't his call -- which is honest.

Our photog also touched on another theme that's being brought up again and again throughout this first season ... namely, LGBTQ+ representation. Some of the names mentioned above actually lend themselves to that, and Pedro says ... yeah, it's important.

Jeffree Star is following up on his controversial remarks about people using they/them pronouns -- telling us he has no beef with nonbinary people, but he is accusing them of going overboard with labels.

We got the makeup guru Thursday at LAX, where he stood by the comments that got a lot of folks heated. He's fully aware of the brewing controversy, but insists it had to be said ... and, even further, he says he's the perfect messenger.

For those unaware, Jeffree recently got candid about people who use the gender-neutral pronouns they/them ... calling it "stupid" and some "bulls***" made up when Americans got bored during the pandemic.

While some saw it as a brutal, hate-filled statement ... Jeffree thinks people missed his point altogether. He tells us he recognizes nonbinary people are out there, and respects anyone's labels, but doesn't think he should be put on blast for speaking his mind.

Dwyane Wade's daughter's been granted the official name and gender change she's wanted ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to new legal docs we obtained, an L.A. County judge just signed off on the new legal identity for Dwyane's transgender 15-year-old.

Dwyane's kid is now legally Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade ... and the judge also ruled in favor of her official gender change from male to female.

Of course, Dwyane and his current wife, Gabrielle Union, have been calling her Zaya for years -- she came out as trans back in 2020. Her petition for the name and gender has been making its way through the courts since last August.

The legal change came with some family drama ... as we first told you, the retired NBA star and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade were at odds over the move. Dwyane said the change was in their child's best interest and ripped Shiovaughn's opposition as "nonsensical."

J.K. Rowling isn't going to her grave anxiously thinking about how the world will remember her after being labeled transphobic -- on the contrary, she says she doesn't give a hoot.

The famed 'Harry Potter' author -- who's been mired in controversy these past 3 years for what some consider bigoted comments about transgender people -- made her position clear as day in a new podcast, "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling."

In episode one, J.K. talks about her legacy ... one she says she won't be concerned about after she's gone. The reason she gives is pretty frank -- she says, "I'll be dead."

Rather than stress about how society will judge her in death, JKR says she's more interested in the right now and living life while she can. She says the notion of trying to please everybody and be beloved in the history books is a pompous way to carry on, and she won't do it.

She's gotten headlines again recently in the wake of the release of a new 'Harry Potter' game, which features trans characters ... seemingly flying in the face of opinions she's so tightly embraced -- that transwomen are not actually women and vice versa.

Despite making this POV clear and not backing down, J.K. has also said people are misunderstanding her intentions -- especially as it relates to any perceived malice.

Of course, that tends to fall on deaf ears a lot -- especially on Twitter. Rowling continues to be branded a "TERF" (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and a bigot ... and has even had some of the 'HP' cast turn their backs on her as well.

Chicago White Sox prospect Anderson Comás revealed this weekend he's gay ... saying he's hoping coming out now will help inspire others to "fight for your dreams."

The 23-year-old became just the second active MLB minor leaguer to reveal he's gay ... and in an emotional Instagram post on Sunday, he wrote, "I'm doing this cause I wanna be an inspiration for those like me out there fighting for their dreams."

"Please don’t listen to those stupid things that people say about us," he added, "fight for your dreams, believe in yourself and go for it."

Comás signed with the Sox in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic ... and began his career as an outfielder. In 2022, though, he switched to pitching -- and logged 11.1 innings on the mound for the White Sox's rookie league team last season.

After his announcement Sunday, the White Sox applauded him -- saying on Twitter they were "proud" of the prospect.

Team assistant general manager Chris Getz later said in a statement Comas came out to the team last year.

"I was very pleased that he was comfortable sharing with us in player development," Getz said.

Paris Hilton has opened up more about her dating life before finally finding the one ... revealing that she thought she was asexual before meeting her husband, Carter Reum.

The reality star/entrepreneur got candid in an interview with Harper's Bazaar, saying she spent a good amount of time in her 20s questioning her sexuality. She said, "I was known as a sex symbol, but anything sexual terrified me."

Paris has been known to date some pretty famous guys in the past ... but says she often struggled. She continued, "I called myself the ‘kissing bandit’ because I only liked to make out. A lot of my relationships didn’t work out because of that."

She says that all changed in 2019, when she met her now hubby at a friend's Thanksgiving shindig and realized they had chemistry like no other....  "It wasn’t until Carter that I finally am not that way ... I enjoy hooking up with my husband."

Of course, Paris totally glossed over her 3 previous engagements to be married before finally making it down the aisle with Carter.

One way to look at it -- if Chris Zylka, Paris Latsis and Jason Shaw didn't know why their relationships didn't work out with Paris ... they do now.

As we reported, Paris and her Carter announced they had a brand new baby last month ... after tying the knot during a luxury wedding weekend back in 2021.

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas used an anti-gay phrase during his postgame interview on Thursday night ... and hours later, he apologized for it -- saying he "definitely didn't intend to offend anyone."

Thomas muttered the expression while on the Barclays Center court speaking with a TNT reporter ... after the Nets had beaten the Chicago Bulls, 116-105.

The media member asked Thomas about comments that his new teammate, Spencer Dinwiddie, had said earlier this week about the Nets needing some help in the looks "department."

"I seen it," Thomas said of Dinwiddie's remarks. "But I was like, 'Man, he just talking.' We already had good-looking dudes."

The 21-year-old then added, "no homo."

The reporter was immediately caught off guard by Thomas' words ... saying, "Surely the league office will enjoy that one."

Thomas took to Twitter to issue a mea culpa a short time later.

"I was excited about the win and was being playful," Thomas said. "I definitely didn't intend to offend anyone, but realize that I probably did. My apologies again. Much love."

Riley Gaines, an All-American swimmer, is speaking out against the NCAA after she says her and her fellow competitors were made to share a locker room with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, and were exposed to "male genitalia."

Gaines, a 12x All-American and 5x SEC champion at Kentucky turned women's sports advocate appeared on FOX News' "America Reports", and talked about Thomas.

"Of course, we competed against Thomas, we were not forewarned beforehand that we would be sharing a locker room with Lia. We did not give our consent. They did not ask for our consent," Gaines, a 12x All-American and 5x SEC champion at Kentucky turned women's sports advocate said when she appeared on FOX News' "America Reports."

Gaines continued ... "But in that locker room we turned around and there's a 6'4" biological man dropping his pants and watching us undress, and we're exposed to male genitalia."

Of course, Lia swam three seasons on the men's swim team at the University of Pennsylvania before transitioning and competing as a woman, where she won an NCAA National Championship in 2021.

While Thomas dominated in the pool, Gaines says it's the locker room situation that bothered her most.

"That to me was worse than the competition piece. Not even probably a year, two years ago, this would've been considered some form of sexual assault. Voyeurism. But now, not even are they now just allowing it to happen, it's almost as if these large organizations are encouraging it to happen."

"Of course, after NCAA Championships, the NCAA nominated then nominated Thomas for NCAA Women of the Year. So we're celebrating this movement."

Her story has been a polarizing one for Americans ... and it's a debate that's been hotly contested.

Gaines is fighting to pass "Fairness in Women's Sports" bills, and she also wants to establish separate locker rooms for transgender athletes. She says she hopes other like-minded women will step up and speak out like she's done, but acknowledges many are scared and worried about retribution.

While conservatives are up in arms about Sam Smith and Kim Petras' hell-themed performance of "Unholy" at the Grammys ... the Church of Satan is unimpressed.

David Harris, magister for the Church of Satan, tells TMZ ... Sam and Kim's performance was "alright" and "nothing particularly special."

Harris, who's pretty high up in the Church of Satan (kinda like a cardinal), says the imagery evoked in Sam and Kim's set is similar to what folks have already seen from other artists -- red clothing, fire and devil horns -- and it's all kind of passé now.

Of course, politicians like Senator Ted Cruz and Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert had entirely different takeaways ... as they railed against the Grammy night act, calling it evil.

MTG and Boebert's anti-Sam/Kim tweets referenced The Satanic Temple -- a different group from the Church of Satan -- but Harris is firing back on behalf of all Satanists, telling us ... "It's sad when politicians on a national stage use someone's religion as a punchline."

Ironically, he says Cruz, MTG and Boebert are a bunch of "delicate snowflakes."

Political bickering aside, the Church of Satan says Lil Nas X's music video for "Montero" was actually much more proactive than anything Sam or Kim did, at least in a satanic sense.

For the uninitiated ... Satanists don't actually worship Satan, nor do they believe in God or the Devil. They're opposed to anything supernatural and all spirituality, and with no belief in the afterlife, Satanists emphasize being your true self, personal achievement and living life to the fullest ... with one of the key tenants being individuals are their own Gods.

It's why the Church of Satan says Lil Nas X's "Montero" is much more in line with their philosophies ... in the music vid, LNX descends into hell, murders Satan and takes the devil's crown for himself.