Recent Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne has become the first person to marry at the UK’s most famous gay nightclub, Heaven in Charing Cross, London.
Heaven opened its doors in 1979 and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. It is the host venue for G-A-Y , one of Europe’s biggest and most well-known gay promotions.
Earlier this year, Heaven applied for a marriage license. On Sunday, it put that license to use for the first time. It hosted the nuptials of Liverpool drag star The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams, and partner David Ludford, who acts as his PA.
Williams won the first season of Drag Race UK, which ended last month. A second season has already been commissioned.
The men were married on stage, while friends and family watched from tables set on the dancefloor. From Instagram stories posted from those present, the club was transformed for the event. Among the guests were fellow RPDR queens Blu Hydrangea, Cheryl Hole and Gothy Kendoll.
Cabaret was provided by Chad Michaels, a former contestant on RPDR in the US and All Stars. Williams said: “Just a dream come true. The happiest day of our lives made a million times better. ICON, mentor, friend @chadmichaelsallstar”
Heaven owner and G-A-Y promoter Jeremy Joseph posted a photo of the men on stage, saying: “I Couldn’t Be More Happy Or More Proud Of @thevivienne_ & @luddy1990 fWho Got Married Today For Heaven’s First Wedding.”
WATCH: Mariah Carey spreads holiday joy with Billy Eichner on NYC streets
Mariah Carey joins Billy Eichner on the streets of New York City (Photo: YouTube)
‘Queen of Christmas’ Mariah Carey joined gay comic Billy Eichner for his popular Funny or Die web series, Billy On The Streets. The duo hit the sidewalks of New York City to spread some holiday joy to some very surprised members of the public.
The clip premiered online yesterday. In the segment, Eichner is his usual manic self, accosting people and asking them to complete the lyrics of Christmas classics.
Carey tries to keep up with him, and the juxtaposition of Eichner’s energy, Carey’s fixed grin, and the shock of onlookers, is what makes the 6-minute segment so hilarious. That and the gifts they give away, including a Christmas tree topped with a CD of Carey’s album, Glitter (a Christmas tree topped with glitter, geddit?).
Oh, and kudos to Carey for slipping into Swedish to speak to two Swedes they encounter!
The episode premiered on a very special day for Carey. Her 1994 hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s the first time it has hit the top of the charts. In doing so, it becomes her 19th number one – placing her one behind the Beatles (although Carey has spent 80 weeks at number one compared to the Beatles’ 59 weeks).
It also scores a record as the song to take the longest time to hit number one (25 years!), and means she joins Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Usher in having a number one hit every decade since the 1990s.
Terrorists Who Sent Bomb with Unsuspecting Gay Brother in Foiled Plot to Blow Up Airliner Jailed for at Least 27 Years
Mahmoud and Khaled Khayat
Khaled Khayat, 52, and Mahmoud Khayat, 34, who were found guilty of attempting to blow up an Etihad airlines flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi in 2017 have been jailed for at least 27 years.
The Guardian reports: “The plot – which included their older brother Tarek Khayat who fought for Islamic State in Syria – involved blowing up the plane and carrying out a lethal poisonous gas attack. A bomb hidden in a meat grinder was to be put into the luggage of their unsuspecting brother, Amer Khayat, who was flying to Abu Dhabi. But the plan was abandoned when the luggage was found to be overweight at Sydney airport.”
Part of the reason their brother Amer was involved was because he is gay and the brothers felt he brought dishonor to the family.
Said Justice Christine Adamson said on Tuesday: “While no one was physically injured or killed as a consequence of the offense, the offenders nonetheless achieved their aim of creating terror in the minds of members of the public. … Neither offender was particularly close to Amer, although each said he loved him as a brother and spoke to him when he saw him. They disapproved of him because he drank, went clubbing, gambled and was gay which they regarded as bringing shame on the family. … If the plots had gone according to plan, no one in the aircraft carrying the bomb and no one exposed to the poisonous gas would have survived and no one would have had time to say goodbye. The scale of the intended impact adds significantly to the gravity of the offense.”