LGBT

Harrison Butker was back before a podium Friday in his first public appearance since his controversial commencement speech – and he stood firm in his beliefs without giving an inch to his detractors.

Last evening, the K.C. Chiefs kicker gave another sermon onstage for the "Courage Under Fire" gala at Regina Caeli Academy – a traditional Catholic institution – in Nashville, Tennessee.

As a member of the school's board of directors, Butker leaned in heavily on his message from Benedictine College two weeks ago that rubbed many people the wrong way.

Transgender model Carmen Carrera is speaking out against Peru's new bill that officially classifies transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people as "mentally ill."

Carmen -- who is of Puerto Rican-Peruvian ancestry -- tells TMZ she thinks the government's move aims to change the personal beliefs of the Peruvian people, who she says are actually supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, especially since they've had transgender and nonbinary figures throughout their indigenous history.

The "RuPaul's Drag Race" alum believes the Peruvian government is trying to cash in on transgender people getting insured, which she believes is why they're falsely categorizing their transition as a mental illness.

Patrick Mahomes is sticking up for Harrison Butker ... praising the kicker as a man of good character following his controversial commencement speech earlier this month.

Butker is at the center of a ton of criticism after speaking at Benedictine College's graduation ceremony ... in which he shared his views that many considered sexist, anti-gay and politically divisive.

The Kansas City superstar addressed the Butker backlash with reporters at Chiefs practice on Wednesday ... and while he said the two might not see eye-to-eye on every issue, he still understands his teammate to be a good guy.

Amber Rose publicly endorsed one candidate for the 2024 US Presidential Election ... surprising many followers with her choice -- as it seems to contradict her public stances.

The model-turned-activist took to Instagram on Monday to share a photo of herself, Donald Trump and Melania Trump ... making it clear she'd be voting for the former prez in November. Alongside the upload, AR wrote ... "Trump 2024."

It didn't take long for Amber's followers to sound off in the comments ... with many calling out how Trump's political stances directly contradict her own beliefs -- at least ones she's been open about anyway.

A transgender high school runner won a state title over the weekend, but instead of a rousing ovation, the athlete was met with a chorus of boos ... with spectators voicing their displeasure over the track star's participation in the event.

The controversial incident happened Saturday at the Oregon School Activities Association track and field championships in Eugene ... where McDaniel H.S. sophomore Aayden Gallagher raced girls in the 200-meter finals.

Gallagher trailed, but a late push saw her cross the finish line in 23.82 seconds, just ahead of the second-place runner.

The controversial commencement speech Harrison Butker gave over the weekend has apparently made him one of the most popular players in the NFL ... as his jersey sales have exploded in the days following the polarizing talk.

According to NFL.com, Butker's red Chiefs No. 7 uni is now amongst the league's "Top Sellers" -- right up there with C.J. Stroud, Saquon Barkley and Caleb Williams.

In fact, the league's website appeared to indicate that Butker's threads are an even bigger seller than those belonging to his star teammates, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Harrison Butker's speech is uniting much of Kansas City against his controversial views, but the Chiefs still need to make a statement disavowing their kicker's beliefs ... so says a prominent city leader.

Justice Horn, the city's former LGBTQ+ commissioner, joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to share his thoughts on HB's commencement speech ... and, he says citizens are pretty much in lockstep in challenging his views.

Horn says the opinions Harrison expressed -- about women and the LGBTQ+ community -- are not part of mainstream discourse, and, quite frankly ... he says they shouldn't be.

Harrison Butker got disowned by Kansas City following his controversial commencement speech -- at least briefly on social media -- with the city's official X account dissing the Chiefs kicker amid the backlash ... before later issuing an apology.

The @KansasCity page -- which dons the gray badge for government-verified handles -- shaded the hell outta the three-time Super Bowl champion on Wednesday ... saying, "Just a reminder that Harrison Butker lives in the City of Lee's Summit."

FYI -- Lee's Summit is about half an hour outside of Kansas City, and a solid 20 from Arrowhead Stadium. Essentially, the account was saying "dude's not one of us!!!"

The government in Peru has officially changed its laws to legally classify transgender, nonbinary and intersex people as mentally ill ... and, advocacy groups are pissed.

Peru's President Dina Boluarte signed the decree into law last week, categorizing gender identities as outright mental illness ... with the country's health minister claiming it will "guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health" for trans people.

Despite the change, the health ministry insists the law change will not force trans individuals into conversion therapy.

Travis Kelce's teammate, Harrison Butker, is in a bit of hot water with some Swifties ... who are furious with the Chiefs kicker for the way he evoked Taylor Swift's name during a controversial commencement speech over the weekend.

The polarizing talk with graduates happened Saturday at Benedictine College -- a Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas -- and some of his comments have people outraged, to say the least.

The Kansas City special teamer railed against Joe Biden, COVID policies, the LGBTQ community and abortion during his 20 minutes at the dais ... and even at one point, he said he believes a woman's "most important title" should be "homemaker."

Jennifer Lawrence is jabbing at Vice President Mike Pence over his views on the LGBTQ community, but did say he should take home an award ... although this isn't one for the mantle.

The Oscar-winning actress stepped up to a podium at the GLAAD Media Awards to announce that country music star Orville Peck was this year's winner of the Vito Russo Award -- but, she had to get off a few jokes first ... one aimed directly at Pence's stance on conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth.

Jennifer opened by telling the audience -- which included Jennifer Hudson, Uma Thurman and Don Lemon -- she “loved seeing so many humans who can top their field while still power bottoming."

Seeing David Archuleta's mother watch the music video for his new song -- one he could not have written without her -- might be more emotional than the song itself.

TMZ got this exclusive clip ... showing the former "American Idol" runner-up sitting with his mom, Lupe Bartholomew, for her first viewing of the vid for, "Hell Together" -- as he tells her she's the inspiration behind the track.

Lupe visibly reacts to the images -- it features a lot of home video footage she helped pick out, scenes of David singing in a church with angelic-looking women dancing.

Khloe Kardashian seems open to dipping her toe into the lady pond ... saying as much on social media this week -- or at the very least, strongly suggesting it.

The reality TV star hopped on X this week to let folks know she's keeping her options open when it comes to her sexual preferences -- this after one fan jokingly said she oughta try lesbianism after several high-profile breakups with men. Khloe didn't laugh off the idea, writing ... "Well you never know what my future holds."

BTW, when a different fan replied to her comment with a GIF involving scissors, Khloe responded with a cry-laughing emoji. Again, she's not really shutting down the idea!

Caitlyn Jenner is popping off about the ongoing pro-Palestine protests at college campuses across the country -- and she's got a strong take ... ship these folks to the Middle East!!!

The former Olympian fired off a strongly-worded opinion on all the demonstrations happening at American universities -- particularly those who are using LGBTQ+ imagery as a way of standing in solidarity with what's going on in Gaza.

Specifically, she commented on a video of protesters at Cal Poly Humboldt -- where students were being asked to disperse ... with one spinning around a rainbow-colored umbrella.

Daniel Radcliffe no se une a la actual cruzada de J.K. Rowling sobre cuestiones transgénero, sino que se mantiene firme con la comunidad LGBTQ+.

Le preguntaron a la estrella de "Harry Potter" acerca de los dichos de la célebre autora en una nueva entrevista con The Atlantic, y dice que todo el asunto le parece realmente triste.

Y añade: "Miro a la persona que conocí, los tiempos en que nos conocimos, los libros que escribió, el mundo que creó y todo eso es para mí tan profundamente empático". Daniel continúa diciendo que cuando se enfrentó a J.K. hace unos años, sintió que era necesario.

Daniel Radcliffe isn't folding to J.K. Rowling's ongoing crusade on speaking out about transgender issues -- instead, he's standing pat with the LGBTQ+ community.

The 'Harry Potter' star was asked about the saga in a new interview with The Atlantic -- and he says the whole thing with J.K., who created 'Potter,' makes him really sad.

He adds, "I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic." DR goes on to say that when he pushed back against J.K. a few years ago, he felt he needed to.