LGBT

DaBaby just got the hook -- Lollapalooza organizers are yanking him out of their Sunday night lineup, which he was supposed to headline ... due to his ignorant and homophobic comments.

The legendary festival, going down in Chicago this weekend, announced Sunday morning ... "Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight."

DaBaby was supposed to perform at 9 PM Sunday for more than 150,000 fans, as the final act of the 4-day festival -- instead, he'll be sidelined, and Young Thug has been moved up into that slot.

The 11th-hour change is in response to the rapper's onstage rant last weekend at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami. ICYMI ... DaBaby told the audience to put their phones up, "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n***a d**k in the parking lot."

He attempted to explain away the vile comments on social media when he posted a video claiming his words weren't directed at his gay fans because they're not "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies" and they take care of themselves.

In other words ... he just made it worse.

As we've reported ... the clothing company, Boohoo, stopped working with DaBaby soon after the heinous comments. Also, Dua Lipa -- who has a huge hit with DaBaby, "Levitating" -- denounced his remarks ... and their song has reportedly been removed from multiple Apple Music playlists.

42 Dugg has responded to a now-viral video of him kissing and licking his son's neck -- and he's firing back with nothing but homophobia.

The rapper addressed a clip he posted late this week in which he's seen being affectionate with his young son -- who just turned 3 -- aboard a plane, which entailed hugging him from behind ... and slobbering all over his neck -- including licking, kissing and sucking.

You can see the kid kinda squirm a bit, but he eventually giggles as if to escape his dad's canoodling. One could argue this was innocent father-son fun, but others took it differently.

Some folks said it was inappropriate, and in some cases ... many just called it gross and speculated it might be child abuse, invoking Child Protective Services and considerations to call them over this. The interaction itself was up for debate ... but Dugg's fiery retort isn't.

Instead of tackle the crux of the issue -- whether this video is fatherly love gone too far -- Dugg went on a rant that was riddled with homophobic language and sentiments ... not entirely different from what DaBaby spewed. Now, he's catching backlash for this too.

We won't get into all the nitty-gritty from his post -- you can read the since-deleted IG Story above -- but essentially ... Dugg seems to want to distance himself from any talk of homosexuality as it pertains to his relationship with his kid ... further saying he feels he's having same-sex vibes shoved down his throat by famous people and society at large.

Whatever point Dugg was trying to make gets lost in the clear bigotry and apparent hatred he seems to have when it comes to the LGBT crowd. Not a good look ... all the way around.

R. Kelly doesn't want the feds to be given a chance to prove he had sex with a male -- because the jury isn't ready for that wrench ... and might take it out on him in a verdict, assuming they're homophobic.

The singer's legal team fired back to what federal prosecutors submitted last week -- namely, a request to have new evidence they say they have touching on several new allegations ... the most shocking of which being R. Kelly groomed and molested a 17-year-old boy.

You'll recall ... prosecutors filed a bombshell just mere weeks ahead of the start of Kelly's Chicago case, the first of his many cases that'll start before any of the others. In addition to bribery, they claimed he started a relationship with a male minor in the mid-2000s -- this after supposedly meeting him at a McDonald's and taking him under his wing.

There was another 17-year-old boy the feds claim R. Kelly met as a result of this relationship -- but it sounds like things didn't turn sexual until years later for that second John Doe, per their filing. At any rate, Kelly's team says NONE of it should be allowed into the record.

Of the many reasons they list in their docs, obtained by TMZ, Kelly's attorneys -- Thomas A. Farinella and Nicole Blank Becker -- list timeliness (or a lack thereof), ongoing anonymity, purpose and jury selection as their main concerns for why this stuff shouldn't be heard.

The jury thing is perhaps the most interesting though -- it speaks to what Kelly's team appears to be anticipating in terms of jurors who may or may not have a bias on the issue of same-sex relationships. That's important ... 'cause the jury questionnaire is already filed and submitted, which his lawyers say is messed up considering this late, new development.

Long story short, his attorneys argue the questionnaires potential jurors will see soon are "void of a single question about their opinions or feelings on same-sex relationships" -- which they think is important, since that could end in bigots on the panel who may decide unfavorably against Kelly simply due of the nature of the evidence/allegations ... aka, the implication that R. Kelly is gay and/or bisexual. His attorneys say ... that's not fair.

The 2 attorneys further tell TMZ that it's no secret the issue of sexual orientation is still a lightning rod issue in 2021, and needs to be vetted to give Kelly an impartial jury.

Dr. Alex Khadavi -- the famous cosmetic dermatologist whose homophobic rant was caught on camera -- has been arrested ... just hours after cops swarmed his home.

Deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department hit Khadavi's condo in West Hollywood Friday, but the Dr. was never spotted in cuffs. It's unclear if he turned himself in or was arrested at another location, but nonetheless, he was booked for felony criminal threats.

TMZ broke the story ... Khadavi's homophobic tirade on July 7 included him threatening to "blow their f***ing heads off" at his condo's complex in WeHo. The video, obtained by TMZ, showed him approaching the front desk concierge in a hostile manner and talking smack about people who live in the building. He referred to them with the homophobic f-word.

He threatened to shoot and kill them ... before taking his dog outside. When he returned, his outburst continued in the lobby ... yelling at the front desk attendant.

As we reported ... it was one of Khadavi's neighbors -- a gay man himself -- who filed a restraining order against the doc for himself and his husband. According to the docs ... the neighbor claimed the concierge specifically asked about him and his husband while allegedly threatening to kill gay people.

Some of Khadavi's famous celeb clients over the years have included Scott Disick and Lance Bass.

"Soul!" put Black culture on the TV map at a time when it hadn't really been done before ... and if you've never heard of the first Black variety show on American television, well, it's an amazing story about an openly gay Black host who trailblazed in so many ways in the '60s.

Melissa Haizlip was on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... she produced an amazing documentary about her uncle, Ellis Haizlip, who hosted "Soul!," the PBS show from 1968 to 1973.

Ellis's show became a platform for political expression and social justice at a time when civil rights and the Vietnam War were front and center in America.

Ellis had amazing guests ... Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, Patti LaBelle, Jessie Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Green. Oh, and a 16-year-old Arsenio Hall performed magic tricks on "Soul!"

It's pretty amazing ... when Ellis hosted the show homosexuality was illegal in many states, and homophobia was rampant. He even had Louis Farrakhan as a guest, and confronted him over his condemnation of homosexuality.

DaBaby's social calendar for mid-September just opened up ... 'cause he's been dropped from a music festival across the pond.

The rapper was originally slated to perform at Parklife 2021 in Manchester, England where he was supposed to be one of the headliners ... along with Megan Thee Stallion and Young Thug. But, that's not the case anymore.

You can see DaBaby's name -- which used to practically be front and center -- has now been removed from the lineup card on the festival's website.

It was just 2 weeks ago when the festival was proudly showing off its lineup on Instagram, featuring DB. They seemed pretty excited about it ... with the caption saying, "PARKLIFE 2021 🔥 TWO MONTHS TO GO 🙏🏼."

The excitement over DB headlining the event has quickly dissipated following his controversial comments at the Rolling Loud Festival. And, his removal from Parklife is just the latest in a series of dominos falling.

As we've reported ... the clothing company, Boohoo, stopped working with DaBaby soon after the ignorant comments about HIV/AIDS. Sure, he attempted an "apology," but only made things worse.

Dua Lipa's just one of the many stars who were horrified by the comments. In fact ... her collab with DaBaby -- the "Levitating" remix -- has reportedly been removed from multiple Apple Music playlists.

Leslie Jordan says ignorant, uninformed comments about HIV/AIDS from people like DaBaby are exactly why some gay people aren't comfortable being themselves ... so Leslie's slamming the rapper's homophobic rant as stupid and clueless.

We got Leslie outside Kings Road Cafe in L.A. Wednesday and he laid into DaBaby ... grousing it's a shame he's using his enormous platform to spew bigotry.

ICYMI, DaBaby hit the stage at Rolling Loud Miami over the weekend, and went on a rant about HIV/AIDS. He later "apologized" twice but only made things worse.

Leslie says he's 66 years old and feels perfectly comfortable being a gay man. Problem is, he worries about those who are NOT yet comfortable in their own skin ... and DaBaby is doing great harm to those folks.

Leslie believes DaBaby will get his ... and repercussions are already coming his way. The rapper was in a collab with the clothing company Boohoo, but he's been unceremoniously dropped.

Celebrity dermatologist Dr. Alex Khadavi is under investigation by a governing body of medical professionals ... following his homophobic rant.

A spox for the Medical Board of California tells TMZ ... they're aware of Dr. Khadavi's recent episode and are reviewing it to see if any disciplinary action is warranted.

As for what that punishment could include ... the board wouldn't speak specifically to Khadavi's case, but did say the range of possibilities include everything from public reprimand to license revocation when it comes to violating the standards of patient care. Of course, Khadavi's incident didn't involve patient care, but was disturbing nonetheless.

The Board also pointed out Dr. Khadavi has no record of discipline on his license at this time.

As we reported ... Khadavi was caught on camera having a meltdown in the lobby of his apartment complex -- where he made homophobic comments, including using the f-word. He appeared to be fuming over a couple of neighbors.

The neighbors -- a gay couple -- filed for a restraining order over this ... claiming they'd been told Khadavi had made mention of wanting to kill them, and that he also allegedly once flashed a gun at the concierge, seemingly to show he was packing and meant business.

Dua Lipa says she's "surprised and horrified" by DaBaby's anti-gay and sexist diatribe during his set at Rolling Loud ... she says it doesn't sound like the artist she thought she knew.

Dua Lipa, who worked on a song with DaBaby last year, just responded to his homophobic rant ... saying she can't believe he's spewing all that hate.

DL says "I don't really recognize this as the person I worked with" ... alluding to their 2020 collab on the song, "Levitating."

As we reported ... DaBaby told folks in the Rolling Loud crowd to put up their cell phone lights, encouraging them to do so in a very disturbing way by telling them ... "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n**** d*** in the parking lot."

DaBaby tried clearing up the vile comments following tons of backlash, posting a video where he claims the words weren't directed at his gay fans because his gay fans aren't "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies." In other words, he only made things worse.

Dua Lupa makes a clear distinction between her values and DaBaby's rant ... saying she stands "100% with the LGBTQ community" and calling on folks to come together to fight the ignorance and stigma around HIV and AIDS.

DaBaby just attempted to explain why he went on an anti-gay and sexist diatribe during his set at Rolling Loud ... by now saying his gay fans don't have HIV/AIDS because they're not "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies."

ICYMI, the rapper performed at RL over the weekend, and at one point encouraged the crowd to put their cell phone lights up in a very disturbing way ... telling fans to put their phones up, "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n**** d*** in the parking lot."

The rapper attempted to clear up his vile comments Monday, posting a video and claiming his words weren't directed at his gay fans because they're not "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies" and they take care of themselves.

We reached out to festival organizers, but they've been radio silent.

Earlier in his set at RL ... DaBaby also pissed some fans off -- namely, Megan Thee Stallion fans -- when he revealed his surprise guest was Tory Lanez.

Meg had just performed before DaBaby, and in case you forgot ... Lanez is accused of shooting her in the foot after leaving a party last summer. Clearly, many folks think this was deliberate and abhorrent shade thrown at MTS.

Also getting involved in the controversy is T.I., who seemingly defended DaBaby's homophobic comments online, commenting ... "If Lil Nas X can kick his s**t in peace... so should dababy." He added the #equality hashtag as well.

Later, T.I. attempted to clarify his remark by saying he respects gay people, but doesn't believe homosexuals should have more rights than heterosexuals.

He also said he respects all gay people who are living their truth -- like Lil Nas X -- but added that X's performances and music videos "ain't for me" and said he doesn't want his kids watching them either.

Dr. Alex Khadavi -- a famous cosmetic dermatologist in L.A. -- allegedly went on a homophobic tirade about his neighbors, threatening to "blow their f***ing heads off" ... and his rant was captured on security footage.

The video, obtained by TMZ, is from Khadavi's condo complex in West Hollywood, and it shows him approaching the front desk concierge in a hostile manner while ranting about people who live in the building ... referring to them with the homophobic f-word.

He goes on to say he'll shoot these people and later threatens to kill them ... before taking his dog outside. When Khadavi returns to the lobby, he continues yelling at the front desk guy.

According to legal docs ... this incident went down on July 7, and resulted in one of Khadavi's neighbors -- who is a gay man -- filing for a restraining order against Khadavi for himself and his husband.

In the docs, the neighbor claims the concierge told him Khadavi made threats about killing gay people, and specifically asked about him and his husband and implied he was going to kill them.

The concierge also claims that 2 months before this incident ... Khadavi showed him a handgun he was carrying while taking his dog for a walk. The neighbors say they fear for their lives.

This is not the first time Dr. Khadavi has been in the news for something like this. We broke the story ... the 'Million Dollar Listing' guys got a restraining order against him back in 2016, claiming he made death threats and anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist comments.

Khadavi has had many famous celeb clients over the years, including Scott Disick and Lance Bass.

Luke Prokop -- a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft -- just announced he's gay ... saying in a statement Monday, "I am no longer scared to hide who I am."

The 19-year-old Nashville Predators prospect continued, "It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I could not be happier with my decision to come out."

Prokop -- a 6-foot-4, 217-pound defenseman who currently plays in the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen -- said he's hopeful coming forward with his truth will help him ultimately reach his goal of making an NHL roster.

"From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player," Prokop said, "and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams."

If Prokop does make it to the NHL show ... he would become the first-ever openly gay player in the league.

"I hope that in sharing who I am I can help other people see that gay people are welcome in the hockey community, as we work to make sure that hockey truly is for everyone," Prokop said.

Both the Predators and the NHL have already released statements in support of Prokop ... with commissioner Gary Bettman saying Monday, "We pledged to do everything possible to ensure that Luke's experience is a welcoming and affirmative one and continue to work to ensure that any current or future NHL player contemplating following in his trailblazing footsteps knows our League is ready to provide full support."

The hockey player's announcement comes less than a month after Las Vegas Raiders star Carl Nassib became the first-ever openly gay player in the NFL.

Demi Lovato says they won't jump down your throat if you accidentally misgender them -- as it's not an easy pivot -- but they do ask folks to make a good faith effort going forward.

The pop singer -- who identifies as nonbinary -- came out with a new IG post that addresses the change so many have been trying to adopt when discussing them ... namely refraining from using she/her pronouns and referring to Demi as they/them -- which is their preference.

Demi writes ... "If you misgender - That's okay. I accidentally misgender myself sometimes! It's a huge transition to change the pronouns I've used for myself my entire life. And it's difficult to remember sometimes!"

They continue, "As long as you keep trying to respect my truth, And as long as I remember my truth, The Shift will come naturally." Demi ended on this note ... "I'm just grateful for your effort in trying to remember what means so much to my healing process."

You'll recall ... Demi came out as nonbinary earlier this year, saying their new pronouns were more in line with how they wanted to express their gender than the ones they used to go by ... allowing them to be their most authentic self.

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is not backing down from a controversial song in the wake of what they claim is a wave of death threats coming their way.

Here's the deal ... the SFGMC recently posted a song across social media where they satirically sing, "We'll convert your children," but they say it's being taken out of context and they're getting lots of hateful backlash, including violent threats.

The Chorus is laying the blame on "far-right conservative media" ... claiming the song's tongue-in-cheek humor is being lost on folks and instead used to "support a narrative that suits their intolerant and hateful needs."

Their intent with the "convert" line is a double-entendre -- when you hear the full song, they're singing they'll convert children "not to hate."

The SFGMC claims the death threats are coming their way in emails and social media comments, and the group says it won't be threatened and will not back down in the face of violence. The Chorus says it's working with national and local law enforcement to address the alleged threats.

Lil Nas X triggered a wave of online criticism for kissing a male dancer during the BET Awards, but over at the FCC ... it was basically crickets. Sooo, sign of progress?

TMZ's obtained the complaints filed to the Federal Communications Commission and there were merely 3 of them made in after Lil Nas' much-talked about performance of "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" ... which he buttoned with the kiss.

One viewer from the Bronx wrote to the FCC around 1 AM ... "I was very disturbed to see 2 men practically having sexual in the stage when the awards show is supposed to be a family show. It’s ridiculous and children and adults are being forced to endure this. Unacceptable and I will be unsubscribing from BET network. DISGUSTING AND DISTURBING!!!!!!!!"

Another pissed off viewer wrote, "During a performance 2 gay men kissed. Why are you showing this on tv. It is disgusting and wrong for kids to see because it’s unnatural." #Ugh.

The third gripe cam from a guy in Philly, but it was mostly about satanism than the kiss.

That's it. Just the 3. For comparison, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's Grammy performance of "WAP," and J Lo and Shakira's Super Bowl Halftime show each inspired more than 1,000 FCC complaints.

As we reported ... Lil Nas delivered a stunning performance at the BET Awards ... not only with his hit track but also with a tribute to Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time."

Of course, the rapper saw way more than 3 people sounding off on social media -- so many, in fact, that Lil Nas clapped back at the haters ... particularly one who called him out for using "AFRICAN CULTURE FOR S***S LIKE THIS!!!!!!!"

The incredibly low number of FCC complaints might have more to do with a lower number of viewers -- at least compared to the Grammys or a Super Bowl -- but one can hope part of it is also about tolerance.

Derek Carr says he doesn't anticipate any issues whatsoever arising from Carl Nassib's gay announcement ... but the QB made it clear, if any do come up, the Raiders will defend their teammate vigorously.

"He's our brother," Las Vegas' star signal-caller said of the pass rusher. "So, if you want to mess with him, you have to go through us."

Carr explained his feelings on Nassib on the "The Cris Collinsworth Podcast featuring Richard Sherman" this week ... and he didn't hold back, speaking very candidly.

The 30-year-old admitted there might be some people in Vegas' locker room that don't agree with Nassib's lifestyle ... but he insisted every single Raider still plans on being there for Carl regardless.

"Our team has been all for having his back," Carr said. "That doesn't mean everyone agrees with the lifestyle or agrees with that."

"But, we live in a country nowadays like people think if you don't agree then you can't love one another and have their back. And, like, that is the farthest thing from the truth."

Carr continued, "And so there are some guys that have raised a question or two. But, they all say without a doubt we have his back."

Carr explained he believes the Raiders are like a family ... and, therefore, everyone in the team's facility "has each other's back at any moment."

"I hope that no one makes it difficult for him, and I'm talking about the outside coming in," Carr said of Nassib. "Because inside of our building, he's going to be loved just like he's always been loved. Just like everyone on our team is always treated."

As we previously reported, Nassib became the first openly gay NFL player EVER with his video announcement last month.

The clip was inspiring ... and prompted the NFL to release a powerful video proclaiming, "Football is gay."