Daily Archives: May 30, 2015
Trial Begins in New Jersey Suit Against Conversion Therapy Provider
Trial Begins in New Jersey Suit Against Conversion Therapy Provider
Yesterday, trial began in Michael Ferguson, et al. v. JONAH, et al., a case brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center against practitioners of so-called “conversion therapy” in New Jersey Superior Court.
HRC.org
James Franco is Doing Some Shirtless Musical Writing in the Hamptons: VIDEO
James Franco is Doing Some Shirtless Musical Writing in the Hamptons: VIDEO
James Franco is “just tryna write a 🎶MUSICAL🎶” in the Hamptons, according to his Instagram.
Franco has another movie coming out on June 5 in which he plays a gay man, though you wouldn’t know it from the trailer. The synopsis of Wild Horses, which screened this year at SXSW:
Texas Ranger Samantha Payne (Luciana Duvall) reopens a 15-year-old Missing Persons case, uncovering clues linking a local boy’s death to wealthy family man, Scott Briggs (Robert Duvall). Samantha will stop at nothing to discover the truth even if it means risking her own life. With the unexpected return of his estranged gay son Ben (Franco), Briggs must find a way to either silence the law for good, or come to terms with the hidden relationship between Ben and the boy that he tried to end years ago.
Watch the trailer, AFTER THE JUMP…
(h/t bgps)
Andy Towle
TV Station Refuses To Air Gay Republican Soldier's Right To Marry Ad
TV Station Refuses To Air Gay Republican Soldier's Right To Marry Ad
An NBC-affiliated television station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has declined to air a pro-gay marriage ad starring a conservative Republican soldier.
Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld is a combat anesthesiologist who served in Afghanistan with the Navy. In the ad, which is produced by the group Freedom To Marry, he says that he’s “fighting a different fight” in the state where he and his partner, Judd Taback, live.
“I’m a Republican, I’m a doctor and I’m a soldier,” Ehrenfeld says in a voice-over in the commercial. “As a military physician, I take care of other people’s loved ones who are wounded in combat. But here at home, I’m fighting a different fight. Because I’m gay, I’m not allowed to marry my partner here in Tennessee where we live.”
The station’s president said it chose not to run the ad because they felt it was too controversial.
“It’s just a very controversial and personal issue, and we just choose to not air a commercial on either side of that debate,” Tom Tolar, the president and general manager of WRCB, told BuzzFeed News. “People probably have really strong opinions on one side or other of the debate. It’s just an emotional debate for many people.”
Ehrenfeld said the station’s policy seems arbitrary. The 30-second ad is set to run in Nashville and Memphis stations in the coming weeks.
“It seems they just created this policy out of thin air when presented with this ad,” Ehrenfeld told BuzzFeed.
Freedom To Marry is a nonprofit organization that campaigns for the right of same-sex couples to get married in the United States.
“We’re one country with one constitution and all Americans should have the freedom to marry,” the ad’s YouTube description reads.
H/T BuzzFeed
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Gay Iconography: Diving Deep With Matthew Mitcham
Gay Iconography: Diving Deep With Matthew Mitcham
Diver Matthew Mitcham may not have been the first openly gay Australian to make a splash at the Olympics (that honor would go to fellow diver Matthew Helm), but that didn’t stop him from making quite an impression at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.
Not only did he capture a gold medal in the 10 m platform dive, but he captured the media spotlight with his talent, charm and proud membership of the LGBT community. (OK, his good looks didn’t hurt.)
Mitcham initially came out in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. He described the experience to Australia’s gay magazine SX: “It’s not really a big deal. It’s not like I’m a different person. It’s not like I was straight before. So nothing really has changed….I came out years ago. All that happened recently was that I was doing an interview with the Herald and there was a pretty innocuous question, ‘Who do I live with?’ and I just said ‘my partner Lachlan’. And the journalist was really excited – she thought it was absolutely wonderful!”
His performance at the games launched his career, earning him awards, endorsement deals and even his own postage stamp. He remained an outspoken advocate for out athletes, including comments on gay soccer stars and Russia’s treatment of members of the LGBT community ahead of the Sochi games. Mitcham isn’t afraid to embrace the opportunity to be a role model for other out athletes.
“I certainly don’t see it as a burden. I never did, especially with how much attention the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] cause has been getting lately with marriage equality … and with how few openly gay sports stars there are around at the moment. I don’t mind attention being put on it,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Ideally I would like one day for sexuality to be as unimportant and uninteresting as hair colour, or eye colour or even just gender in general. One day it will get to that. But until it is easy for sports people to come out without fear of persecution or fear of lost sponsorship income and stuff like that, or fear of being comfortable in the team environment, I don’t mind attention being brought to my sexuality in the hope that it might make other people feel more comfortable … in being comfortable enough about who they are in their sporting environment.”
See more of our favorite clips of Matthew, AFTER THE JUMP …
Mitcham’s big moment came in 2008. After going into the final round of dives in second place against China’s Zhou Luxin, Mitcham’s third dive earned four perfect 10s from the judges and a score of 112.10, the highest score for a single dive in Olympic history. His gold medal victory was Australia’s first in diving since 1924. He described the experience of being one of few out athletes at the games in a press conference: “I was actually very surprised I was the only ‘out’ male at the Olympic Games. It’s a little bit sad I think, because statistically there should be a lot more but, you know what, it’s each to one’s own. I’m not going to pressure anybody else to come out of the closet because it’s their own choice. But I’m proud to be there, proud to be that one, that lots of other people can look up to.” (See the dive here.)
Following his medal-winning performance in Beijing, Mitcham returned to even more accolades. He was named Australia’s 2008 Sports Performer of the Year. He described the feeling of winning ”I think the last thing I said onstage there was, ‘Oh my God, I’m a homo and I just won the sports award.’ People just pissed themselves and thought it was hilarious.” In 2008, he also won the Don Award (given to someone whose athletic achievement inspired the people of Australia) at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
In 2012, Mitcham released a memoir at the age of 25. The “warts-and-all” story includes Mitcham’s struggles with depression and battle with crystal meth addiction. “… taking it was something I did … to take my mind off things that were upsetting me – to make me feel better about myself.”
Part of Mitcham’s appeal is his adorably charming personality. You can see his winning smile as he pals around with vlogger Davey Wavey, above. Additionally, Matthew’s got his own YouTube channel where he regales viewers with performances of his ukulele, like this cover of the B-52s’ “Rome.”
Adding another hyphen to Mitcham’s résumé, the diver-slash-author-slash-vlogger is also a cabaret performer. Last year, he combined his ukulele stylings with his life story into a stage show, sharing the same name as his memoir, Twists and Turns.
Are you a fan of Matthew Mitcham?
Bobby Hankinson
www.towleroad.com/2015/05/gay-iconography-diving-deep-with-matthew-mitcham.html
Three Friends
Tom DeLay Says Americans Must 'Rise Up' If the Supreme Court Legalizes Marriage Equality: AUDIO
Tom DeLay Says Americans Must 'Rise Up' If the Supreme Court Legalizes Marriage Equality: AUDIO
And in other news from former GOP House leaders who’ve had run-ins with the law, Tom DeLay stopped by a Houston radio show last week to say Americans must “rise up” against the Supreme Court if it rules in favor of marriage equality in June.
Said the former Republican Party House Majority Leader:
“The Supreme Court is about to put out a ruling on marriage and they have no jurisdiction to do so, they shouldn’t have even heard this case, they have no right to redefine marriage and hopefully the American people will rise up and really undermine the legitimacy of the Supreme Court,”
Listen to the scumbag speak, AFTER THE JUMP…
Kyler Geoffroy
DSC00695
Is Marriage Equality Pioneer Martin O'Malley The Anti-Hillary Candidate for President?
Is Marriage Equality Pioneer Martin O'Malley The Anti-Hillary Candidate for President?
The former governor and early proponent of same sex marriage is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
Dawn Ennis
Here’s Why Davey Wavey Is On The Open Road This Week
Here’s Why Davey Wavey Is On The Open Road This Week
If there’s no line outside your local watering hole and there’s no wait for the elliptical at your gym this week, don’t fret. All your gay brethren are probably just doing their part for humanity by participating in AIDS/LifeCycle 2015 for the next week. The annual seven-day bike ride between San Francisco and Los Angeles that draws thousands of participants who help to raise money (last year $15.5 million was collected) and awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This year the life-changing journey attracted YouTube star Davey Wavey, who will join fellow internet personality Princess Joules, to provide viewers with a glimpse into the fundraiser and the personal stories of its riders. Davey chatted with Queerty about why he decided to become involved with this year.
Queerty: How did you become convinced to become involved with AIDS/LifeCycle this year?
Davey Wavey: As much as I surround myself with all things gay, I first heard about AIDS/LifeCycle only a year ago through a friend. I had no idea of the scope or scale of the event, nor the amount of funding that it provides for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Since the rides began as the California AIDS Ride in 1993, participants have raised more than $200 million and completed more than 42,000 journeys on bikes from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Once I crawled out from the rock I was living under, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the event.
So you had no previous experience with the ride at all?
I have virtually no experience with the ride — and very little experience biking. What I do have in experience is using my platform on YouTube and social media to share a story or to support a cause. And that’s exactly what I’m hoping to do while on this year’s ride.
Why did you decide it was important for you to participate?
LGBTQ or otherwise, all of our lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS. Having said that, we know that HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects our community – and it’s the same community that watches my videos and engages with my content Did you know that in the seven days it takes the riders to reach Los Angeles, more than 1,000 people in the United States will become infected with HIV and one out of every five people living with HIV nationwide is not aware of their status? By having a very personal investment in the ride, I can help to educate my audience about HIV/AIDS.
What are you most looking forward to about your week on the road?
On the road, I’m going to be shadowing a husband and wife team who lost their young son to HIV/AIDS. I’m looking forward to capturing their experience and their story, and sharing it with my audience. This couple has a powerful and vital story that needs to be told. I’m honored to help tell it — and I hope to do it justice.
How do you intend to entertain yourself when you’re not on the bicycle?
I don’t anticipate having much down time. Each night, I’m going to interview the husband and wife whom I’m shadowing and trying to keep up with my social media postings. Not to mention, keeping me fed is a full time job so I should have my hands full.
Since you’re a prolific videographer, what kind of shenanigans should we look forward to seeing on YouTube?
I do love my shenanigans, but I don’t think this is going to be that type of trip or video! You’ll have to catch up with last week’s video, “Straight Guys Explaining Gay Sex Toys,” to get your fix.
As a very visible internet personality, you’ve met with both a lot of affection and scorn. How do you shrug off the negativity?
I know that people find my videos and personality to be polarizing. The truth is we live in a large and diverse world, and there is no one that’s going to please everyone. Sometimes I find the feedback to be constructive, and I do take it into consideration moving forward. When the comments are vitriolic, I know that it has very little to do with me and a lot to do with that person’s experience in life or own struggles, battles or internalized homophobia. I don’t take it personally.
What advice would you give for someone planning to pursue a career similar to yours?
Do it because you love it, not because you want to make a lot of money or reach a lot of people. If you’re truly driven by passion and doing what you love, the rest will fall into place.
Follow the AIDS/LifeCycle journey here.
Jeremy Kinser