GLAAD

Paulie Calafiore, who just got eliminated from MTV's "The Challenge: USA," is coming out as bisexual.

The reality TV star came out to GLAAD, saying he almost feels guilty about waiting so long to share his truth.

Paulie says he decided to come out as bisexual after changing his perspective ... explaining, "There might be other people that are going through this exact same thing …and maybe this is what they needed to hear and what they needed to see in order to do it themselves."

For Paulie, one of the hurdles was his upbringing as an athlete ... he says he felt pressure to be viewed publicly as a strong athlete and competitor, and that sports culture made him feel like he had to repress his sexuality.

Paulie, who is also a "Big Brother" alum, says since coming out as bisexual he's been accepted by his family and his longtime girlfriend and fellow 'Challenge' star Cara Maria Sorbello.

Candace Cameron Bure says she has love for everybody -- after facing a rash of criticism for comments she made about focusing on "traditional" families on her new network -- but she isn't backing down on her position.

The new chief creative officer at the Great American Family network released a statement Monday, saying in part, "I am a devoted Christian. Which means that I believe that every human being bears the image of God. Because of that, I am called to love all people, and I do. If you know me, you know that I am a person who loves fiercely and indiscriminately."

She continues, "My heart yearns to build bridges and bring people one step closer to God, to love others well, and to simply be a reflection of God’s huge love for all of us."

As we reported, Bure chatted with The WSJ about her new role on the network, explaining they'd work to highlight heterosexual relationships ... unlike The Hallmark Channel. Though she says The WSJ didn't include everything.

Bure states, "I had also expressed in my interview, which was not included, that people of all ethnicities and identities have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways both in front of and behind the camera, which I encourage and fully support."

She ends her statement by saying, "The God we serve is a wildly creative and loving God.  He didn’t just capture a small part of my heart, He has captured all of my heart. He will be reflected in everything I do and say; in my family, my work and my interactions with people from all walks of life, God’s love and God’s compassion is front and center."

Candace Cameron Bure wants to keep things old-fashioned at the new cable TV network she's working at ... which is drawing the ire of the LGBTQ community.

The "Full House" star recently said she'd be focusing on "traditional" families when it comes to future programming at the Great American Family network ... of which she's now the chief creative officer ... this after parting ways with her longtime home at the Hallmark Channel.

What she means by that ... portraying heterosexual relationships, and not same-sex couples. Of course, her remarks are catching a lot of backlash from a number of people and orgs ... perhaps most notably from GLAAD, which famously advocates for LGBTQ interests.

GLAAD slammed Candace, saying ... "It's irresponsible and hurtful for Candace Cameron Bure to use tradition as a guise for exclusion. I'd love to have a conversation with Bure about my wife, our kids, and our family's traditions." They went on to say CCB is out of touch, while calling on GAF stakeholders to take a stand if they cared about equality/representation.

A GLAAD rep adds, "If GAC Family's plan is to intentionally exclude stories about LGBTQ couples, then actors, advertisers, cable and streaming platforms, and production companies should take note and seriously consider whether they want to be associated with a network that holds exclusion as one of its values."

JoJo Siwa -- who's gay, and who also publicly feuded with Candace a few months ago -- also spoke out ... as did Candace's ex-costar Jodie Sweetin, who showed solidarity with JS. Hilarie Burton went so far as to call Candace a "bigot" ...

Paris Jackson spent some time with Caitlyn Jenner on the heels of starting a friendship with one of Caitlyn's daughters.

Paris attended the GLAAD Media Awards Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton, and ran into Caitlyn. Just last week, Paris was spotted shopping in L.A. with Kendall -- which makes sense since PJ is breaking into the modeling biz. Little professional advice.

Alec Baldwin is ripping a high-ranking member of GLAAD, blaming him -- along with a gay blogger ... for getting him 86'd from MSNBC.

Baldwin admits his angry encounter with a photographer is what started trouble -- but still claims he didn't say "c**ksucking f*g" ... and says certain gay rights advocates just jumped on him when they got their shot.

But Baldwin told Gothamist, "You've got the fundamentalist wing of gay advocacy -- Rich Ferraro (VP of GLAAD) and (gay blogger) Andrew Sullivan -- they're out there, they've got you."

Baldwin added, "Rich Ferraro, this is probably one of his greatest triumphs. They killed my show."

Ironically, right after the incident, Baldwin gave Ferraro props for informing him that "c**ksucker" was a homophobic slur, and said he would "retire" the word from his vocabulary.

We're guessing the word popped up again in Alec's head when MSNBC axed him.

After Baldwin essentially called for the gay-bashing of a Daily Mail reporter ... the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation -- the same org. that's CRUSHED people for making far less harmful and threatening statements -- asked critics to back off Baldwin.

"Alec Baldwin is making it clear [to GLAAD] that the intent behind his tweets does not excuse his language, especially at a time when there were 11 incidents of violence against gay men in New York City just last month. As we all work to end such senseless acts of violence, allies like Baldwin are right to use these moments to reinforce support for the community and LGBT equality."

But the statement continues ... and might reveal the REAL reason they're letting Alec off easy:

"Alec Baldwin has worked with several organizations and added his voice to a campaign by Fight Back NY to encourage the State Senate to pass marriage equality with out actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. He also had a guest role on Will & Grace and played a gay character in the 2006 Off-Broadway revival of 'Entertaining Mr. Sloane.'"

It's almost like the org. is afraid if they bash Baldwin, he'll STOP doing pro-gay projects. Hmmmm ...

If Bill O'Reilly said the same thing ... with the same explanation -- ya think GLAAD would still think it was no big deal? Hmmmm ...

Paris Hilton has issued an apology for the comments she made about gay men ... saying, "Gay people are the strongest and most inspiring people I know."

Of course, Hilton's apology is in response to a secretly recorded piece of audio released earlier this week which caught the heiress saying such gems like, "Gay guys are the horniest people in the world. Most of them probably have AIDS."

Paris had already released a statement trying to explain herself ... but now, she's issued a full-on apology -- posted on GLAAD's website, no less -- saying, "I am so sorry and so upset that I caused pain to my gay friends, fans and their families with the comments heard this morning."

"I was having this private conversation with a friend of mine who is gay and our conversation was in no way towards the entire gay community. It is the last thing that I would ever want to do and I cannot put into words how much I wish I could take back every word."

She continued, "Gay people are the strongest and most inspiring people I know ... Again, I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart and I feel absolutely horrible. I hope that everyone can accept my apology and know that it is not who I am or how I feel in any way."

Piers Morgan admits that Kirk Cameron ticked a lot of people off by voicing his opinions against gay marriage ... but Piers thinks the former child star was "brave" to stick to his beliefs.

GLAAD predictably blasted Cameron after his appearance on "Piers Morgan Tonight," during which he called homosexuality "unnatural" and "destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

But Morgan feels Cameron "was honest to what he believed" even if he most people find his views to be "antiquated."

Kirk Cameron's comments to Piers Morgan on gay marriage are not sitting well with the folks at GLAAD ... who think the former "Growing Pains" star "sounds even more dated than his 1980s TV character."

Cameron said during last night's show that he does not support gay marriage, and when it comes to homosexuality in general ... he said, "I think that it's ... unnatural. I think that it's detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs at GLAAD, tells TMZ he feels Cameron, a Born Again Christian, is "out of step with a vast majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemned because of their sexual orientation."

A GLAAD spokesman says they plan on monitoring Cameron's media bookings and various acting gigs to ensure "the news and entertainment industry is aware of his outrageous anti-gay views."

Adam Carolla has quickly offered a half-assed apology for the anti-LGBT comments he made last week -- telling TMZ, "I'm sorry my comments were hurtful. I'm a comedian, not a politician."

As we previously reported, Carolla said, "When did we start giving a sh*t about [transgender] people?" -- during his podcast last week.

The apology comes after a history of homophobic comments -- including one where Adam said gay parents were "not as good as" straight parents -- so we gotta ask ...

Adam Carolla went on a SHOCKING anti-LGBT tirade last week, asking, "When did we start giving a sh*t about these [transgender] people?" -- and now GLAAD is doing everything they can to yank him from the podcast-universe.

Adam recorded the rant as part of his podcast for "The Adam Carolla Show" -- insisting LGBT people should drop the acronym LGBT and start using "YUCK" instead.

And now, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is reaching out to its allies in the entertainment industry to pull him from the air -- telling TMZ, “The gross intolerance that [Adam] tries to pass off as comedy should not have a place on our airwaves.”

Adam has a history of making anti-gay remarks on his podcast -- two years ago, Adam also claimed gay parents were "not as good as" straight parents.

The wrestling organization works directly with GLAAD and even produced a series of anti-bullying commercials following incidents involving announcer Michael Cole and wrestler John Cena.

Calls to GLAAD were not returned.

UPDATE: A rep for the WWE tells TMZ, "WWE does not condone this type of language or bias and we reinforce that with our talent who are independent contractors."

During the meeting -- organized by GLAAD -- Morgan spoke with two young gay people, Jayden Love and Raciel Castillo (pictured above, to the right of Morgan), who were forced to live on the streets after they were shunned by their families.

Afterward, Jayden and Raciel said, "We really appreciate that we were able to meet with Tracy Morgan ... We hope that our stories have the power to change not only Tracy's perspective, but those of any parent who may be struggling with accepting their child."

Tracy spoke with Jarrett Barrios today -- the President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation -- who tells us, GLAAD reached out to Tracy about an in-person apology in Nashville next week ... and Tracy agreed on the spot.

If that weren't enough -- Barrios tells us, Tracy also plans to visit homeless gay teens at the Ali Forney Center in NYC this week ... teens disowned by their parents because of their sexual orientation.

The cherry on top -- Tracy also plans to film a PSA for GLAAD's upcoming "Amplify Your Voice" campaign.

TMZ spoke with Jarrett Barrios -- the President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation -- who tells us the organization is investigating the situation, and if the reports are true, "We call on him to remove these violently anti-gay remarks from his show and send a strong message that anti-gay violence is not something to joke about."

The Human Rights Campaign is equally upset -- telling us, "Hateful remarks that mock youth suicides and the very real emotional and sometimes physical bullying LGBT kids face on a daily basis have no place in a comedy routine.”