LGBT

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie of the hit show "Heated Rivalry" are slated to take their star power to a global stage ... as they have been announced as torchbearers for the Olympics!!

News of their involvement dropped Thursday morning ... but it was not revealed when exactly the two would be strapping up their running shoes for the Olympic tradition in Italy. The torch is currently on its way to Trieste, about 262 miles from Milan.

It's no surprise that the 2026 Winter Games tapped the two for the torch relay ... as their show has taken the world by storm ... which features two hockey players hiding their relationship.

Karamo Brown fell out with three of his "Queer Eye" co-stars after a hot mic moment his own mom overheard on set ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the cast -- Karamo, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, and Jeremiah Brent -- were filming Season 10 last summer in Washington, D.C., when Karamo brought his mom to set for a visit one day. We're told she was given production headphones and observed filming from nearby.

At one point, Karamo stepped away from the group ... and while he was gone, Antoni, Tan and Jonathan were overheard speaking negatively about Karamo, including criticizing certain lifestyle choices he makes. Unfortunately for the three guys, Karamo's mom heard the entire conversation through her headphones and later told her son what was said.

D.L. Hughley has some strong words for Nicki Minaj after her online tirade against Don Lemon following an incident at a church in Minnesota Sunday, where Don was reporting from amid a crowd of protesters.

We caught up with D.L. at LAX Monday, and he told us while Nicki is focused on Lemon ... she really needs to worry about keeping her husband off of "To Catch a Predator."

As you know ... Nicki attacked Don on X, calling him a homophobic slur for reporting on the protest at a Minnesota church.

She wrote, "DON 'C*** SUCKIN' LEMON IS DISGUSTING." Don is a married gay man.

D.L. told us he finds it amazing how "many on the right" hate transgender and gay people "more than they do pedophiles."

He joked ... "Damn Don Lemon, Nicki Minaj needs to be worried about Chris Hansen."

1:08 PM PT -- Nicki's paying attention to Don's reaction, and the media's, to her comment. In a new X post she says, "LOL!!! And i purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the c**k suckas to post about it."

She also warned, "I'm glad they're angry. They're about to get angrier" ... and included a pic of a Chucky doll flipping the bird.

Don Lemon is going off on Nicki Minaj! The former CNN news anchor stopped by "TMZ Live" and unloaded on the rapper, telling her to "sit the f*** down" ... and while she's at it -- "get a life and grow some brains."

As you know ... Nicki bashed Don on X, calling him a homophobic slur, writing, "DON 'C*** SUCKIN' LEMON IS DISGUSTING." Don is gay, and married real estate agent Tim Malone in 2024.

But Don told us Nicki is an ignorant, bigoted woman who's been weighing in on things she doesn't understand.

Harvey and Charles are usually a tight team ... but Michael Rapaport's "Traitors" comments stirred up some trouble in paradise -- with the two men passionately debating on "TMZ Live."

Our two colleagues discussed the reaction to Rapaport claiming Colton Underwood -- a gay man who was looking for a wife on "The Bachelor" while he was still in the closet -- would be an incredible secret-keeper ... and that received quite a negative reaction from his costars. Michael later apologized to Colton.

Check out the clip ... Harvey's actually stepping up for Michael here -- telling Charles that he thinks Michael's referring to Colton keeping the secret from millions of people on national TV.

Michael Rapaport's explosive comments before his banishment pissed off "Traitors" cast members ... which was par for the course while shooting -- because we've learned they couldn't stand the guy the entire time.

A source close to the production of Season 4 tells TMZ ... the cast thought Michael was "toxic" on set -- and they were all very happy when his time on the show came to an end this week on the fifth episode.

We're also told a rumor circulated on set that the network thought viewers would be so put off by his behavior ... Peacock pushed out his final episode early to get him off fans' TVs.

Michael Rapaport is being slammed as homophobic online for comments he made about 'Bachelor' star Colton Underwood during a new episode of "The Traitors."

Check out the clip ... the comedian went after Colton's character during the roundtable before the cast decided who to boot. Directing his anger at Colton, he said ... "Nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you."

Colton immediately assumed Michael was speaking about his sexuality, which was a secret for a majority of his life -- even when he appeared on "The Bachelor" to find a wife in 2019. Colton swiftly replied ... “There it is. You think it was fun for 29 years of my life?”

The NHL's top suit, Gary Bettman, confessed he binge-watched all six episodes of "Heated Rivalry" in one night ... and while he admits it can get a bit steamy, he says it's had a positive impact on the league!!

Bettman -- the league's 73-year-old commissioner -- says the NHL has been well aware of the hit HBO Max series that's taken the world by storm, and you can add him to the list of fans.

"It was very well done," Bettman told reporters in a scrum before Thursday’s game between the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. "The content, particularly for young people, might be a little spicy. And so you have to balance that out in terms of how you embrace it."

John Hinckley Jr., the man who tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan, is convinced he's the reason Jodie Foster is sexually attracted to other women.

John tells TMZ he has a theory that his failed Reagan assassination attempt in 1981 traumatized Jodie to the point where she turned away from men and became a lesbian. He believes Jodie's trauma also stemmed from him bringing her into his assassination attempt with his public fascination of her.

He says Jodie was dating men in the early 1980s and only became a lesbian in the years after he tried to shoot Reagan dead. Jodie first came out publicly as gay during the 2013 Golden Globes Awards. John says this is the first time he's ever revealed this theory publicly as he promotes his new memoir, "John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am."

It's no secret Elon Musk is big on having kids ... and he's claiming Monday he'll file for full custody of his young son Romulus, after posts made by the boy's mother, Ashley St. Clair.

Elon posted on X Monday morning, writing "I will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a one-year-old boy" ... in response to a random X user's post commenting on St. Clair's recent reassessment of her stance on transgender issues.

FYI ... Ashley St. Clair, a right-wing influencer, appeared to change her tone on transgender individuals Sunday in an X post, writing about the "immense guilt" she feels about the "hurt" she's caused the trans community.

Ashley, who's been accused of being openly transphobic in the past, wrote Sunday she's been trying to "learn + advocate for those within the trans community."

Elon was revealed to likely be Romulus' father last April, when the Wall Street Journal reported a Labcorp test showed the tech mogul's chances of being the kid's dad are 99.9999% ... this after St. Clair sued Musk for sole custody of the child.

The Tesla CEO allegedly offered Ashley millions of dollars -- as well as monthly child support payments of $100,000 -- to keep quiet about his paternity.

Elon is estranged from his daughter Vivian Wilson, who came out as a trans woman in 2020 and has publicly trashed her dad on several occasions.

Kendall Jenner is only in the closet to put together a fire new outfit ... 'cause she finally addressed the years-long rumor she's secretly gay -- and she's not.

The supermodel spoke about the rumor on the "In Your Dreams" podcast Friday ... saying if she were a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she would have come out by now. She says there's nothing wrong with being gay, she just simply isn't.

However, she noted she's not opposed to testing the waters if it feels right, explaining ... "As of today, I am not [gay]. I don’t think I will be, but I’m not closing doors to experiences in life.”

"Heated Rivalry" star Hudson Williams is pulling back the curtain on his DMs ... revealing he’s been getting messages from pro athletes who say they’re still in the closet.

Speaking on "Andy Cohen Live," Hudson -- who plays Shane Hollander in the steamy queer hockey drama -- said it hit him just how deep the show was landing when he started getting a flood of anonymous DMs from secretly gay pro athletes.

Hudson said the messages haven't been coming from just one sport ... he’s heard from athletes in hockey, football, and basketball -- many of whom also reached out to the show’s author, Rachel Reid, who then passed along the love.

Chappell Roan shared a sweet tribute to Brigitte Bardot after the French film legend died over the weekend ... and she yanked it from Instagram just as fast after the singer learned more about the controversial icon.

Here's the deal ... Brigitte died at the age of 91 -- and among those who shared their sorrow was Chappell, who wrote ... "She was my inspiration for 'Red Wine Supernova.' Rest in peace, Ms. Bardot."

Seems CR was only aware of Brigitte as a French blonde bombshell and her tireless work to protect animals ... and not so much about her outspoken xenophobia and homophobia.

Clearly, word got back to Chappell ... and she replaced the tribute with a mea culpa, writing "Holy s---. I did not know all that insane s--- Ms. Bardot stood for. Obvs, I do not condone this. Very disappointing to learn."

Brrr, it's cold out there, but Frankie Grande is here with holiday cheer -- and a 'fit that'll heat you up! Strap yourself up, and see if you can unleash the minor changes ...

Earlier this week in Philly, Frankie lit up for his holiday show: "Slay Ride - A 2025 HoliGay Spectacular."

Throw up your deuces and slay these frigin' differences!

"TMZ After Dark" has been tearing up the nightlife for a minute now ... so naturally, the next step was bigger, bolder, raunchier -- it's our first-ever gay party on wheels!

We’ve honestly never seen a party like it -- history went down Saturday night as celeb hosts Queer Ultimatum’s Vanessa Papa and comedian Izzy Rocha turned all the way up, raging with Ashlee Belzo's queer-owned production crew Girls, Gays and Theys.

The bar crawl kicked off at Jumbo’s Clown Room, bounced to Rainbow Bar & Grill, rolled through Beaches Tropicana ... and wrapped at Roosterfish West Hollywood for the company’s massive third anniversary blowout.

If that wasn’t enough -- surprise! West Hollywood Mayor Chelsea Lee Byers popped up, and we took her to Jumbo’s for the first time. Cameras weren’t allowed inside, so yeah ... let your imagination do the heavy lifting ...

Jordan Firstman is ripping the HBO Max hit "Heated Rivalry" ... he says the show has a bunch of unrealistic gay sex scenes.

In an interview with Vulture, the openly gay actor repeatedly slammed the streaming show, saying ... "I'm sorry, I watched those first two episodes ... and it's just not gay. It's not how gay people f***."

Jordan filmed real, non-simulated sex scenes in his 2023 flick, "Rotting in The Sun" ... so he would seem to be kind of an expert here.