WATCH: Alec Baldwin promises SNL is gonna be ‘yuge this week

Saturday Night Live thrives in times of political unrest, and President Trump has endowed the sketch show with even more power by showing the world how much it gets to him to be portrayed in a less-than-flattering light by Alec Baldwin.

Trump has gone so far as to call Baldwin a “disaster” and SNL a “failing show.”

.@NBCNews is bad but Saturday Night Live is the worst of NBC. Not funny, cast is terrible, always a complete hit job. Really bad television!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2017

Which makes us all the more excited to see what kind of punches this weekend’s show will pull, with Baldwin hosting the show for his 17th time (he’s hosted more than anyone else, if you’re counting).

Rumors have been flying about potential content — everything from Baldwin hosting the entire show as Trump, to Melissa McCarthy coming back to lampoon Press Secretary Sean Spicer, to Rosie O’Donnell offering to take over the roll of Steve Bannon. Please let that last one come true!

In a recently released promo, Baldwin promises that the show is going to be a “big deal.”

We’re inclined to agree.

Watch below:

And just for kicks, here’s Melissa’s instant-classic sketch from last week’s episode:

www.queerty.com/watch-alec-baldwin-promises-snl-gonna-yuge-week-20170209?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

This Week in The Resistance: Persistence

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s words backfired.

www.advocate.com/politics/2017/2/09/week-resistance-persistence

8 times Jeff Sessions looked legitimately terrified during his swearing in as Attorney General

In his now-trademark alternate reality doom/gloom fashion, President Trump swore in racist and homophobic Jeff Sessions as our nation’s 84th Attorney General, referencing a dark version of the U.S., with Sessions as its savior of justice.

And judging by the looks Sessions was giving the President and the audience present at the event, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that if you’d asked him five years ago if he’d ever be the U.S. Attorney General, he’d say no.

As LGBTQ Nation reports:

His record on civil rights prompted Cory Booker (D, NJ) to become the first sitting Senator in history to testify against a fellow Senator in a nomination hearing.

Sessions also has a record of strong opposition to LGBT rights, earning him a “0” rating from HRC. He opposed the Matthew Shepard Act while in the Senate, arguing that he doesn’t believe that LGBT people “face that kind of discrimination.”

And yet, here he is — all sworn in and everything.

“Mr. President, thank you for this great honor. It’s something I never thought would happen in my life,” Sessions said as he took the mic.

Here are eight moments from the ceremony in which we totally believe him on that one. But while he may be a bit frightened about his new post, we’re the ones who are truly terrified:

www.queerty.com/8-times-jeff-sessions-looked-legitimately-terrified-swearing-attorney-general-20170209?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Manchester Chef Stabbed in the Face in Vicious Homophobic Assault

Police in Manchester, England are searching for an assailant who stabbed his gay victim in the face in a vicious homophobic attack. 23-year-old chef Lee Michael was walking home on Sunday evening when he noticed he was being followed by two men.

Ragazzo gay aggredito e accoltellato a Manchester: Lee Michael, 22 anni, è stato brutalmente aggredito domenica… t.co/wrbPMg4Sqp

— Globne (@globne) February 8, 2017

Michael was approached by the men who asked if he had a spare cigarette.

RELATED: Two Alleged Anti-Gay Attacks in NYC Happened Within an Hour Early Sunday: VIDEO

The Daily Mail reports:

Mr Michael responded by saying ‘no, sorry’, before the second man allegedly said: ‘There’s a f** in front of you’ and struck him, leaving him with severe cuts.

The victim was pulled away by a taxi marshal from the club [across the road], and then noticed there was blood running down his face and his jumper was covered in blood.

Michael was treated in hospital for four injuries – one across his cheek and another three across his neck.

Mr Michael added: ‘As soon as I came out of the hospital, everyone was staring at me – I’m not going out for a couple of weeks.’

He added that police told him they would record the incident as a homophobic hate crime, and it is believed the two men involved have not yet been found.

Anyone with information regarding the attack should call Greater Manchester Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The post Manchester Chef Stabbed in the Face in Vicious Homophobic Assault appeared first on Towleroad.

Manchester Chef Stabbed in the Face in Vicious Homophobic Assault

Don't miss these LGBTQ nominees, performers at the Grammys!

www.glaad.org/blog/dont-miss-these-lgbtq-nominees-performers-grammys

Kellyanne Conway goes on TV to encourage people to “buy Ivanka’s stuff!”

Professional liar Kellyanne Conway has moved on from defending Donald Trump’s erratic and unconstitutional behavior to promoting his daughter’s crappy fashion line from the White House press briefing room.

While speaking to Fox & Friends yesterday, Conway decided to take a moment to plug Ivanka’s rapidly declining brand.

“It’s a wonderful line,” she touted. “I own some of it. I fully–I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody! You can find it online!”

Related: WATCH: Kellyanne Conway finally starting to crack as CNN anchor corners her on live TV

Critics were quick to point out that Conway’s remarks appear to be in direct violation of the executive branch’s ban on employees using the government’s platform to endorse products or companies. It also prohibits them from using public office for private gain of oneself, one’s friends, or one’s relatives.

All this comes on the heels of a tweet Donald Trump sent yesterday from his personal Twitter account and then retweeted from the official POTUS Twitter account attacking Nordstrom from dropping Ivanka’s line:

My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017

As a result, Nordstrom’s stock briefly plummeted; however, the it fully recovered within just four minutes, and ultimately closed out the day up 4.1%.

A similar thing happened back in December when the Donald tweeted about Vanity Fair, calling the magazine “way down, big trouble, dead.” The publication gained 13,000 new subscribers, a 100% increase in its average daily subscriptions, and saw a huge bump in online traffic.

We’re thinking that perhaps the Trump Administration should switch up its strategy. Instead of telling people to buy Ivanka’s crap, they should tell them not to buy it, and then maybe the public would listen.

Probably not, though.

Related: Bound to happen: Trump exposes major conflict of interest in attack on Nordstrom

www.queerty.com/kellyanne-conway-goes-tv-encourage-people-buy-ivankas-stuff-20170209?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Idaho Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime in Murder of Gay Man

An Idaho man pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime on Tuesday in the murder of a gay man last year, in a reversal of an earlier not guilty plea issued late last month.

Kelly Schneider, 23, of Nampa, had already previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of Steven Nelson, who was 49 and also of Nampa. He had viciously kicked the victim to death with steel-toed boots on April 29 of last year, following the use of an online personals ad posing as a male escort to lure the victim to a remote recreational area, Gott’s Point. He reportedly used homophobic slurs as he did so.

The guilty plea was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler and District of Idaho U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olsen:

“Kelly Schneider assaulted and killed a man because of the man’s sexual orientation,” said Wheeler. “This is a federal crime, and the Department of Justice will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to enforce our federal hate crimes laws.”

“Steven Nelson was assaulted and later died because he was gay,” said Olson. “This is precisely the kind of bias motivated violence that the Shepard-Byrd Act was passed to address. The federal prosecution in this case makes clear that this office, the Civil Rights Division and its law enforcement partners will pursue justice when a person is violently attacked based on who he loves and how he loves.”

Concurrent with his first-degree murder sentencing, Schneider faces up to life in prison when he receives sentencing for this additional crime on April 26, nearly a year to the day since the murder.

Schneider acted with three accomplices, one of whom, Jason Woods, 28, was also convicted of first-degree murder. Two others, Kevin Tracy, 21, and Daniel Henkel, 23, await trial.

The post Idaho Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime in Murder of Gay Man appeared first on Towleroad.

Idaho Man Reverses, Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime in Murder of Gay Man

Christian rocker Trey Pearson releases his first solo single after coming out

www.glaad.org/blog/christian-rocker-trey-pearson-releases-his-first-solo-single-after-coming-out