LGBT

One of the most famous houseguests in "Big Brother" history says CBS committing to casting more people of color on reality shows is coming way too late, but adds ... it doesn't have to be too little.

Marcellas Reynolds was the first Black gay man on 'BB' way back in its third season in 2002, and he tells us he's shocked it took the network this long to address what he calls inherent biases on so many of its hit shows ... including "Survivor" and "Amazing Race."

Reynolds says CBS is on the right track now, but a pledge to have unscripted show casts that are 50 percent Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) isn't good enough.

The reality show alum says more focus needs to be put on making sure there's proper representation behind the camera. He says until this happens, those biases will remain ... and true diversity won't be achieved in the stories being told.

The good news -- CBS did touch on this subject as part of its diversity pledge, vowing to also commit at least 25 percent of its unscripted budget to projects created by minorities ... and set a target of 40 percent BIPOC representation in writers' rooms.

Imagine opening up Hinge, Tinder or Grindr and the other person's opening line being ... who ya voting for? That's exactly what's happening ... especially in battleground states.

Tons of people are reportedly flooding to those datings apps to get users to the polls -- and that's not a euphemism. Specifically, Hinge users/poll pushers are changing their geolocations to battleground states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas and Arizona.

Once there, users set up their profile and do what they can to attract a match ... going as far as posting tons of pictures with furry animals, for example. Once they match, they talk voting and ask if they've settled on a presidential candidate yet. According to CNN ... users reportedly try to persuade undecided voters to Joe Biden but they also respect those who have settled on President Trump.

Some people have called this operation #DateSaveAmerica ... and while some users told CNN they've lucked out and had meaningful conversations about the election, others have said they were turned off when the convo turned to politics.

It's not the first time dating apps have turned political. Back in 2018, the Washington Post reported Tinder users had a similar plan for the midterm elections.

"I was Boosie at one time."

That's Mike Tyson explaining why he felt compelled to confront rapper Boosie Badazz over his history of homophobic comments ... saying he knows what it's like to go from ignorant to enlightened.

Tyson got right to the point with Boosie during a recent taping of his podcast, "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" ... condemning Boosie's offensive comments about Dwyane Wade's child Zaya, who recently came out as a transgender girl.

During the podcast, Tyson pressed Boosie on where his hate was stemming from -- wondering if Boosie's aggression comes from his own insecurities about his sexuality.

It was a powerful moment that seemed to have resonated with Boosie ... and Tyson has been cheered for the way he handled it.

But, Tyson tells "TMZ Live" the conversation probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for his daughter -- who passionately told the boxing legend why Boosie needed to be set straight.

"My daughter," Tyson said ... "She flew all the way from New York City to Los Angeles, California where I'm at just to be there because she thought Boosie was so disrespectful she had to confront him."

Yeah, you read that right -- Tyson's daughter wanted to be the one to go after Boosie, but Mike wouldn't allow it.

Instead, Mike listened to what his daughter had to say and ultimately believed she made some solid points.

Mike said his daughter argued that Boosie's comments have been "disrespectful to the community" -- and she was so passionate about confronting him, Mike was concerned things would go off the rails.

"But, he conducted himself like a gentleman," Tyson said about Boosie ... "It went okay. It didn't go like I anticipated it to go. My daughter has a lot of courage and stuff."

Now, Tyson says he's rooting for Boosie to grow from their conversation and "win the fight over those demons."

There's more ... Tyson also explained to Harvey and Charles why he decided to make a boxing comeback and why he predicts "PAIN" for his upcoming opponent Roy Jones Jr. when they clash at Staples Center on Nov. 28.

Carole Baskin's not only had 3 husbands, but also a wife ... but she says there's been one big difference between her male and female partners.

The 'Tiger King' star, who just this week came out as bisexual, tells TMZ ... she's had lovers from both sexes, and even had a "nonsexual wife" back in the day. Carole's said she could just as easily have married the woman in her life as she did Don Lewis, and then Howard Baskin.

However, we know Carole often sees things differently than most ... and marriage is no exception. First off, she says her "wife" was heterosexual, and that boundary was always respected.

So, with sex off the table ... Carole says they loved each other in a platonic way, and her partner did all the cooking, took care of their home and was even a secretary for Carole's real estate biz. BTW, she doesn't want to reveal the woman's identity to protect her from the media, but it seems they were together sometime in the mid to late '80s ... when same sex marriage was illegal, anyway.

As for Carole's rules of attraction -- she says for her it's more about who you are on the inside, and she doesn't have a preference for physical characteristics ... male or female. Of course, she takes it even deeper ... telling us human connection isn't about sex, gender, race or nationality because humans are ALL of those things.

Carole's also clearing up some statements about her sexuality ... telling us she doesn't identify as a transgender male despite telling PinkNews she feels she was born in the wrong body.

The Big Cat Rescue owner, who clearly believes in reincarnation, says you won't know why you were born as you were ... until you are between lives.

Carole Baskin has a bombshell for all the cool cats and kittens ... she's sexually attracted to men and women.

The 'Tiger King' and 'DWTS' star just came out as bisexual ... Carole tells PinkNews she discovered her truth back during the AIDS crisis in the 80s when she was spending lots of time with the LGBT+ community.

While it's a surprise to some folks, Carole says she's always considered herself bisexual and feels she might have been born in the wrong body because growing up she was a tomboy.

The Big Cat Rescue owner says everything she did as a child was male-oriented ... she didn't have any mothering instincts and never played with dolls, which led her to start thinking something about her was different.

Carole says she finally put her finger on it in the 80s when she was dating a psychologist who was immersed in the LGBT+ community. It was then Carole says she realized she had the same feelings for men and women.

Carole's on her second marriage -- she married Howard Baskin after Don Lewis' mysterious disappearance -- but she says she could have easily married a woman instead.

"Schitt's Creek" co-creator and star Dan Levy is pissed with Comedy Central ... claiming the network's execs in India censored a gay kiss to promote the show over there.

Levy blasted the network Tuesday but he did more than that -- he also brought receipts ... an edited video promoting season 5 in India that did NOT show the kiss that DID go down between his character and Dustin Mulligan's character.

Check out the video ... Dan posted a scene from season 5 that shows the cast playing spin the bottle. Mulligan's character goes to kiss Levy's character, but the kiss appears to be edited ... while a shot of 2 women kissing was left in the clip.

Dan ripped Comedy Central, tweeting ... "This is a show about the power of inclusivity. The censorship of gay intimacy is making a harmful statement against that message. #loveislove." This is deeply personal for Levy, who is gay in real life and plays one of the first openly pansexual characters depicted on TV.

We've reached out to Comedy Central for comment, so far no word back.

"Love Island" cast member Noah Purvis was suddenly no longer a resident, and it's because of some of his old racy videos and photos ... he confirms with TMZ.

The rumors began to swirl when viewers noticed Noah was absent from the villa a couple weeks back, and CBS later addressed it, claiming he "provided false information on his application ... which violates his contestant agreement."

Noah explains the situation in more detail though, telling us the producers informed him they learned about an alias he used in the past while shooting adult videos and photos ... and at that point, he knew he was screwed.

Noah says he'd forgotten about the porn and even told producers he was promised it would never surface, but it did ... and "Love Island" didn't love it and gave him the ax.

As for why he chose to dabble in porn ... Noah says it was mostly for the money, but he also hoped it would gain him some exposure with producers.

Ironically it did ... but not in the way he hoped.

Landon Donovan's pro soccer team straight-up walked off the field in protest Wednesday ... after a member of his squad claimed an opponent used a homophobic slur on the pitch.

Donovan's San Diego Loyal team was playing against Phoenix Rising FC in a USL game in San Diego ... when one of Landon's players said a verbal insult was hurled his way just before halftime.

The player, Collin Martin -- an openly gay man -- reportedly claimed Junior Flemmings called him a "batty boy" ... which is known in Jamaican dialect as an anti-gay slur.

Donovan, Martin and the whole Loyal team were livid over the alleged comment ... and demanded referees or Phoneix Rising FC's coach remove Flemmings from the game.

In video of the argument between Donovan, the refs, and the Phoenix coach ... the U.S. Men's National Team legend can be seen and heard animatedly explaining his team's outrage.

"We need to get this out of our game!" Donovan said. "We need to get this out of our game!"

Donovan continued, "It's homophobia!"

When Flemmings was not removed at the start of the 2nd half ... Donovan's Loyal team took a knee and then left the field -- forfeiting a game it was leading 3-1.

Afterward, Donovan explained that since one of his players had been racially abused in a game just a week ago ... they weren't going to stand for any kind of insensitive comments or actions on the field going forward.

"We went through a really hard incident last week in the L.A. match and we made a vow to ourselves, to our community, to our players, to the club, to USL, that we would not stand for bigotry, homophobic slurs -- things that don’t belong in our game."

The USL says it's investigating the incident, adding in a statement, "Foul and abusive language of any type has absolutely no place in our society and will not be tolerated in USL matches."

For Flemmings' part, he denies ever saying the comment ... writing in a post on social media, "At no point did I say a homophobic slur towards Collin Martin."

"I do not know Collin personally, but I respect all of my opponents equally, Collin included."

Eric Trump took an anonymous gay person's support for his dad and tried to bootstrap that support to the entire LGBT community -- but some of their heaviest hitters are calling BS.

Officials from some of the biggest LGBT-friendly groups in the country are outraged by the Prez's son's appearance Tuesday on "Fox & Friends" -- when he responded to an NYT op-ed told from the POV of a lesbian woman ... who said she was a secret Trump supporter.

In his response, Eric seemingly flubbed ... making it seem like he's a member of the community. More importantly, he suggested gay people were down with MAGA ... but that's hardly the case ... so say these orgs.

Reps for GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG and the NTCE Action Fund tell TMZ there's a consensus -- folks in their community are mostly NOT Trump fans, nor do they consider him/his fam genuine allies in their fight for equality and representation.

The facts are clear says the LGBTQ honchos ... the Trump administration has actively worked against LGBT causes -- from blocking trans soldiers from serving to sanctioning discrimination and/or firings of gay workers and couples looking to foster.

Bottom line ... all of these orgs believe Eric is either exaggerating or more likely flat-out wrong in thinking the LGBT crowd's got his pop's back -- especially in this election.

California Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a new law allowing transgender prisoners in the State to be housed based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

Newsom signed SB 132 Saturday -- among other LGBTQ+-friendly legislation -- which will require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's officers to privately ask inmates during the intake process if they identify as trans, nonbinary or intersex.

If they do, the inmate can then be placed in a facility in which they feel most comfortable and safe.

The new CA law says an inmate's request cannot be denied based solely on a prisoner's anatomy, sexual orientation or another factor that may be present among other inmates at any given facility. What the state could deny a request over ... legit "management or security concerns," although Newsom didn't lay out exactly what that might mean.

If an inmate's request is denied, the state has to offer a written explanation as to why and offer that prisoner a meaningful opportunity to object. BTW, the law also requires prison guards to address inmates by their preferred pronouns and to search them based on their gender identities as well. It's being hailed as a step forward in the LGBTQ+ community.

Of course ... there've been concerns raised about this new system, as some feel cis-gender heterosexual males can abuse the new policy to infiltrate female prisons ... and commit atrocities from the inside. However, the state senator who authored the bill, Scott Wiener, says he doubts that'll happen very often, if at all ... saying it's a false narrative that trans men or women are only out to get into certain gendered wings.

Sophia Hutchins and Caitlyn Jenner have signaled publicly how much they want to be part of 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' ... and now we're told they're actively trying to make it happen.

Sources close to the gal pals tell TMZ ... Sophia recently sat down for dinner with former 'Housewives' castmate Eileen Davidson, and they talked about the show and the possibility of Sophia filling a vacancy.

We're told they also chatted about Eileen's experience on the show and Sophia got enough good feedback that she decided 'RHOBH' was something she wanted to do.

Our sources say Sophia's camp reached out to production and the sides have been talking about the possibility of her joining the show, possibly as a main cast member ... and Sophia's roommate Caitlyn would also make appearances.

Sophia seems like a good fit ... she knows Lisa Rinna socially, and Caitlyn knows Harry Hamlin ... so it could be organic for them to come aboard.

We got Sophia outside Craig's in West Hollywood and she was coy about joining the show, but our sources say Caitlyn advised Sophia to pursue a spot and wants to be a "friend of the show" herself.

As you know, Sophia and Caitlyn live out in Malibu, but that wouldn't be unprecedented on 'RHOBH' ... a lot of the housewives have lived in the 'Bu, including Denise Richards.

We broke the story ... Kathy Hilton is also in talks to become a series regular, but hasn't pulled the trigger on Bravo's offer.

As for Sophia and Caitlyn, our sources say nothing has been signed but they are hoping to snag spots.

UFC stars Amanda Nunes and Nina Ansaroff just welcomed their 1st baby ... a precious baby girl, Raegan Ann Nunes!!

The 32-year-old women's G.O.A.T. made the announcement on social media, saying ... "Speechless ❤️ Raegan Ann Nunes 9/24/2020 7:15 am #happydaughtersday #love #mylittlefamily"

Reagan was born Thursday morning in a Florida hospital.

34-year-old Ansaroff -- the #5 ranked UFC strawweight -- posted their very first family photo, and wrote ... "I am so in love! I can’t wait to show you the world! 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕September 24th 2020"

So, how's the couple doing?? We just talked to Dana White -- who was preparing for UFC 253 from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi -- and he told us the new moms are ECSTATIC!

The UFC honcho -- and father of 3 -- shared a photo sent by Nunes ... along with some parenting advice for the couple.

Now, the question is ... when does Nina -- who has won 4 of her last 5 fights -- return to the Octagon?

In June, Ansaroff told us she only wanted to take off 6 months after giving birth ... while Amanda wanted her fiancee to sit out a little longer!

A quick return to the Octagon isn't impossible. Remember, Mackenzie Dern fought only 4 months after giving birth to her daughter.

Gigi Gorgeous says 'Harry Potter' used to mean something to her, but on the heels of a new anti-trans controversy involving J.K. Rowling ... that's all changed.

The popular trans influencer was leaving Delilah in WeHo when we asked her about Rowling promoting an online store that sells transphobic merch. Gigi told us enough is enough with the author's continual acts of disrespect and dishonor to her community.

As you'll recall ... even 'Harry Potter' himself, Daniel Radcliffe, ripped Rowling a few months back over her incendiary tweets about gender identity.

Rowling has also offered opinions about, and against, transitioning and bathroom rights for trans people in the past.

The latest backlash she's getting stems from tweeting a link to a shop that sells a witch-themed t-shirt she likes ... in order to support women-owned businesses.

Cardi B and her sister are getting sued after labeling a group of beachgoers as "racist MAGA supporters" ... this according to a lawsuit.

Peter Caliendo, Pauline Caliendo and Manuel Alarcon are suing the rapper, her sister, Hennessy Carolina, and Hennessy's GF, Michelle Diaz, claiming they defamed them by labeling them as racist during a squabble at the Hamptons earlier this month.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the plaintiffs claim they were enjoying their time at Smith Point beach with their families when Hennessy approached them with rage ... spitting, insulting and threatening them just because one of them was wearing a MAGA hat.

At the time, Cardi tweeted a video of the altercation ... saying her sister was getting harassed because she and her friend are an Afro-Hispanic gay couple.

The group also claims Cardi B, Hennessy and Michelle edited the video and posted it on social media to falsely paint them as racists. Cardi had posted a video later that day with audio apparently showing Hennessy explaining that someone in the group told her to go back to her country.

Hennessy's side of the story was they were targeted because they "saw us parking here and we were speaking Spanish and we're mixed."

Caitlyn Jenner is angry at a joke Joe Rogan told about her transition, claiming it's simply transphobic and hurtful to the entire trans community.

Caitlyn's on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... talking about Rogan's podcast last week, in which he recounted a bit he once told in 2016 about her transition ... and likened it to her being driven crazy by living with the Kardashian women, whom he calls "crazy bitches."

Joe broke down his joke-writing process to Tim Kennedy about the Caitlyn bit that he used in his Netflix special, "Triggered," explaining in his eyes some people are born trapped in the wrong gender, while and others become that due to their environment.

He joked Caitlyn might be the latter ... using the "he" pronoun and calling her "Bruce." Caitlyn's upset at that, but even more upset at Joe's characterization of her daughters.

Caitlyn takes her own shots at Joe -- who is super successful -- saying her daughters have done better in every department.

BTW, Caitlyn just launched her own YouTube channel. It's seriously worth a watch.

A city councilwoman in Minot, North Dakota got into it with a resident during a council meeting Friday -- a resident who was clearly upset the City would dare raise an LGBTQ+ flag -- and she shut him down by telling him and the rest of the City ... she's gay and she's proud of it.

Councilwoman Carrie Evans clearly had it with the man who has issues with gays, saying, “So, Mr. Walker, if you’re not aware, and I think a lot of people in this room are not aware, and have come here just because this is a gay issue, I am proudly the first openly elected lesbian in North Dakota. So that is why I am not paying any heed to your crap!”

She went on ... “I am a person. I get to see myself represented on that flagpole just as much as the people who got the Juneteenth flag last month, as much as the POW/MIA will get later this month.”

And that wasn't the end ... “Every single person is entitled to see themselves represented. We are not some group of people who live in San Francisco or Seattle. We are HERE. We are your elected officials. We are your brothers. we are your sisters, and don’t tell me you’re not hatred or anger. That’s all I feel. I’ve had to listen to it for days now, as has the mayor and many of my colleagues. It is unacceptable!”

And then she ended with this ... "I’m sorry that it doesn’t make you feel comfortable, but we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going away!”