Ted Cruz says Caitlin Clark is under no obligation to jump into the transgender athlete debate ... but he was more than happy to take his shot -- including one aimed at TMZ DC.
Charlie got the Senator from Texas on Capitol Hill Tuesday and asked whether Caitlin should take a stand after Megyn Kelly called the WNBA star a "coward" for not picking sides after her teammate said young girls in sports shouldn't have to compete against biological men.
Cruz first praised Caitlin as "a hell of a ball player" ... then said athletes shouldn't be required to weigh in on every hot-button topic.
As for his own view, Cruz didn't hold back ... arguing it's unfair for transgender women to compete against biological women -- and challenging Charlie by asking whether it would be fair to let LeBron James play in the WNBA ... then asking if he knew the difference between boys and girls.
Shots fired between Megyn Kelly and Dave Portnoy ... they're locked in a social media scrap over Caitlin Clark's stance -- or lack thereof -- about transgender athletes in women's sports.
Here's the deal ... the WNBA superstar got feisty with a reporter who asked her thoughts on teammate Sophie Cunningham's controversial comments against "biological men" competing against young girls in sports. Basically, Caitlin gave a non-answer and, when pressed, told the reporter to kick rocks.
Megyn, the ultra-conservative media personality, blasted Caitlin as a "coward" for dodging the question ... and in rode Portnoy to defend CC ... saying, "Absolute moron/idiot to call Caitlin a coward for this answer. 1st of all, you don't even know how she feels on this issue and more importantly, she doesn't owe it to you or anybody else to be your political talking point."
Caitlin Clark is finally addressing her teammate Sophie Cunningham's controversial comments on trans athletes in women's sports ... and she's getting feisty with reporters.
Caitlin was asked about Sophie coming out against "biological men" competing against young girls in sports ... and the Indiana Fever star snapped at the journalist who dared to ask a follow-up to her non-answer.
Caitlin was asked about Sophie's stance after Sunday's 108-100 loss to the Minnesota Lynx ... she didn't pick sides, said it was above her pay-grade, claimed it wasn't a topic in the locker room and said she was only focused on winning WNBA games.
When the reporter pressed for more, Caitlin shut him down ... and you can feel the tension in video from their exchange.
The suspect accused of plowing a van into a crowd near Berlin's Pride festival and attacking others with a machete is dead after a confrontation with police, authorities say.
German officials say Abdul Balloutwas killed Sunday following a nearly 24-hour manhunt ... after Saturday's attack left one person dead and 29 others injured.
Berlin prosecutors say Ballout previously sought to join the Islamic State group, and authorities are investigating the Pride attack as an act of Islamic extremist terrorism.
7/26/2026 11:03 AM PST -- Berlin police confirm that alleged terrorist Abdul Ballout is dead after a confrontation with the police. The death total remains at one ... there are now 29 reported injuries.
One person was killed and 16 others were injured Saturday when an alleged terrorist intentionally mowed down a crowd of revelers at a LGBTQ+ parade in Berlin, Germany, according to police.
Cops said the tragedy occurred when a car barreled into Tiergarten -- Berlin's most prominent park -- plowing into a bunch of people near the route of the pride celebration. An army of police then responded and searched for the suspect, but he had already fled and is still at large.
Berlin Police say they have identified the alleged perpetrator as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout -- who allegedly has ties to an Islamic extremist group. A police spokesperson also said some of the victims had suffered life-threatening injuries ... and some had stab wounds.
Hunter Biden says some of the biggest Republicans in Washington might be closeted ... and he's kinda naming names.
Joe Biden's son sat down with Don Lemon to dish about why conservative politicians are so obsessed with gay people ... claiming it's because they're gay, too!
Don asks Hunter point-blank if the late Lindsey Graham was part of the so-called closeted cabal. HB said it wasn't a secret, noting "everybody knew."
As far as the rest of the list ... Hunter tries not to name names -- though he did bring up a backdoor route to mention a few prominent members of the Republican Party.
Riley Gaines says the Supreme Court may have settled some legal fights when it comes to transgender athletes ... but she's already looking toward the next battle.
One day after SCOTUS upheld state laws restricting transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's school sports teams, Riley stopped by "TMZ Live" to weigh in on the ruling.
Riley says the ban is great for girls in many states, but not all ... so her work on their behalf continues.
Looks like Jussie Smollett's new flame -- "Queer Eye" star Karamo Brown -- was with him before we confirmed their romance was official ... and Karamo was already laying it on thick.
Jussie performed Saturday at Harlem Pride Parade ... and the person who announced him on stage was none other than Karamo himself!
Take a look at the video ... before Jussie's performance, Karamo introduces him, saying he's "a man that I respect, that I love deeply, that is extraordinary ... extremely handsome, talented, amazing."
You'd omit some of those words if you were just friends with someone ... but that clearly isn't the case for Karamo and Jussie.
J.K. Rowling worked her magic and scored a meeting with Queen Camilla ... though it seems the two only discussed reading ... and not the author's controversial views on the transgender community.
The 'Harry Potter' author met with the United Kingdom's Queen Consort Tuesday ... with the Royal Family's official X account sharing a picture of the two standing side by side.
Elliot Page has absolutely transformed himself into a jacked powerhouse ... and he looks like a Greek warrior straight out of "The Odyssey."
Check out this new video of Elliot working out in a boxing gym ... the actor is more shredded than a julienne salad ... with abs for days and the muscle definition of a prize fighter.
Elliot is playing Sinon in director Christopher Nolan's upcoming, highly anticipated flick, The Odyssey," and clearly, Elliot is taking the part quite seriously ... because he built his body up in a way that would make Spartans look like they skip some gym visits.
The Supreme Court just reshaped the playing field ... ruling states can bar transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
The blockbuster decision -- handed down Tuesday -- upholds Idaho and West Virginia laws limiting school sports teams to athletes based on biological sex ... and it's poised to impact similar laws already on the books in more than two dozen states.
The ruling mirrors a growing trend, with the International Olympic Committee and a number of international athletic federations tightening eligibility rules for women's competition.
Kevin Spacey says he always felt like he was being attacked by the gay community rather than embraced ... and this was even before the scandal that destroyed his career.
Kevin was on "Club Random" when he told Bill Maher about how it felt to come out as gay and join a community that was apparently quite vicious to him.
The "American Beauty" star explains people in the gay community were already making jokes about him, "as if being famous and coming out was an easy thing."
Rep. Lauren Boebert doesn't care if pro sports teams have gay pride nights, but she's adamant ... players better get a say on whether they have to participate in those events.
TMZ DC's Jacob Wasserman spoke with the Colorado congresswoman Thursday about the controversy surrounding San Francisco Giants players who modified their Pride Night hats by adding a well-known Bible verse, from the Book of Genesis, which describes the rainbow as the symbol of God's covenant with earth.
LB says these verses don't hurt anyone ... and the players were just engaging in a quiet and subtle protest on the field.
Frankie Grandesays he's loving life as a "sparkly homosexual," and he's got some words of wisdom for members of the LGBTQ+ community ... be your authentic self!
We got Ariana Grande's brother in New York -- he's back in the Big Apple after seeing his sister play The Forum in L.A. last week -- and he told us life is "so much greater" when you're being true to yourself.
Frankie acknowledged there are a lot of places where it's not necessarily safe to do that at the moment ... saying "our country is so f***ed up right now."
Former San Francisco Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff went scorched earth over the team's Pride Night firestorm ... unleashing a homophobic rant that he said spoke for "almost everyone" in Major League Baseball.
Very tense moment between Buster Posey and the press when questioned about the Giants pride hats and their players.
Before this, he began with a statement saying the organization had shared their response on pride night and he wasn't going to revisit. @KPIXtvpic.twitter.com/LOvHmgxOLk@mattblively
The controversial slugger, who was with the team for two World Series title runs, said the fallout over some players writing Bible verses on their Pride Night hats was absurd ... and he defended legendary Giants player and front office honcho Buster Poseyfor holding court with the media, only to deflect all questions about Pride Night.
Had he been in Buster's shoes, Huff says he would have responded ... "I'm not wearing this gay bulls***. Queers don't watch Baseball anyway. They watch 'The View,' enjoy therapy, & f**** p***ing sessions. And anyone inside the LGBTQ community, or those who support them don't like what I just said, then I say to you…. Go f*** yourselves, & eat a d***. And I mean that in the most literal sense."
