George Conway Mocks Trump’s ‘Abject Self-Pity’ Over ‘Mourning in America’ Ad: ‘Love, Your Friend, Moonface’
This morning we reported about Donald Trump’s late-night meltdown over a new ad produced by The Lincoln Project, a group of disillusioned Republicans, among them George Conway, the husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.
In his tweetstorm, Trump attacked George Conway, calling him ‘Moonface’. ‘Moonface’ has now responded.
Tweeted Conway: “My friend @WindsorMann, who gave me the idea that we do a “Mourning in America” (not “Morning”) ad, is sad you didn’t rage-tweet at him. Could you take a moment from your busy day of abject self-pity to attack him? Many thanks. Love, Your friend, Moonface”
Dear Mr. President:
My friend @WindsorMann, who gave me the idea that we do a “Mourning in America” (not “Morning”) ad, is sad you didn’t rage-tweet at him. Could you take a moment from your busy day of abject self-pity to attack him? Many thanks.
These gay, black writers just won Pulitzer prizes for drama and poetry
L-R: Michael R. Jackson and Jericho Brown (Photos: Twitter)
The annual Pulitzer Prizes were announced yesterday, and among the winners are two acclaimed gay writers.
Jericho Brown won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry with his third collection of poems, The Tradition, which was published in April 2019.
The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama was Michael R. Jackson, for his 2019 musical, A Strange Loop. He becomes the first musical theatre writer to win the drama prize.
The Pulitzers have been awarded to those excelling in the fields of journalism and the arts since 1917. Yesterday’s awards were announced digitally because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jericho Brown is believed to be the first gay, black man to win the prize for poetry. Born in Louisiana, he teaches English and creative writing at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. His collection, The Tradition, explores how we’ve grown accustomed to terror – from mass shootings to rape to the murder of unarmed people by police.
The Pulitzer judges called the work, “a collection of masterful lyrics that combine delicacy with historical urgency in their loving evocation of bodies vulnerable to hostility and violence.”
In a statement published by Emory University, Brown said, “I have known about the Pulitzer Prize and understood its prestige since I was in elementary school and Rita Dove won it. And I’m so glad I understood it as one of the possibilities for a writer even when I was a kid.
“Understanding it as a possibility doesn’t mean I ever expected to win it, and getting the news that I won is the very best thing to happen to me in 2020 by far,” he said. “I didn’t expect to win it because when I write my poems I mean to be as subversive and radical as possible.”
Detroit-born Michael R. Jackson won the drama prize for his semi-autobiographical musical, A Strange Loop, which played off-Broadway last year. It also won the award for Best Musical of the 2019–2020 season by the New York Drama Critics Circle, and will enjoy a forthcoming run at Washington DC’s Woolly Mammoth theater in the fall (COVID-19 permitting).
The show follows “Usher” – an usher for The Lion King on Broadway and “a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical.”
The judges called the work, “A metafictional musical that tracks the creative process of an artist transforming issues of identity, race, and sexuality that once pushed him to the margins of the cultural mainstream into a meditation on universal human fears and insecurities.”
You can watch a trailer for the show below.
On Twitter, Jackson expressed his joy at winning: “Never in my wildest dreams. NEVER. IN MY. WILDEST. DREAMS. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey to such an incredible honor. I’m sure I’ll have more to say once I’ve caught my breath and looked at all these text messages and emails but for now, THANK YOU.”
Never in my wildest dreams. NEVER. IN MY. WILDEST. DREAMS. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey to such an incredible honor. I’m sure I’ll have more to say once I’ve caught my breath and looked at all these text messages and emails but for now, THANK YOU. t.co/P73Aonzy5t
The Daily Show’s Jaboukie Young-White Coaches Two Gay Men with COVID-19 Antibodies Who Tried (and Failed) to Donate Their Plasma — on How to Pass as Straight: WATCH
The Daily Show‘s Jaboukie Young-White zoomed with two gaymen with COVID-19 antibodies who tried to donate their blood plasma to fight the coronavirus epidemic but failed because of the FDA’s discriminatory ban.
But Young-White has a solution that may or may not be successful: pass as straight.
Said Young-White: “If you want them to take your blood, you just can’t reveal that you’re gay. You have to pass as a straight guy. …. Your look should kind of say, ‘I’m looking for a girlfriend to shop for me because I can’t shop for myself.’ Also, do you have any clothes that your mom bought you? Plaid? Any plaid? More plaid? How ’bout any boot cut jeans? Do you have shoes that look like they’re too casual for formal events, and then too formal for casual events, and they’re scuffed up and they look like they’re the only shoes you’ve owned for the past decade? Let me hear you say ‘bro.’”
HRC GIVES BACK CAMPAIGN DONATES 15,000 FACE MASKS TO 50 ORGANIZATIONS: HRC Gives Back is a digital campaign designed to raise funds for the critical fight for LGBTQ rights while benefitting essential workers and a wide variety of community organizations. “We are living in unprecedented times and the overwhelming success of HRC Gives Back is an especially heartening development — showing that people continue to understand the critical importance of fighting for LGBTQ rights while giving back to those on the front lines,” said HRC President Alphonso David(@AlphonsoDavid). “We’re grateful to our members and supporters for helping make this important initiative successful.” More from HRC.
We are so proud to launch our @HRC Gives Back campaign! ����
In our first week, we signed up thousands of new members while donating nearly 15,000 masks to 50 community organizations. t.co/fjiRE87dbN
TUESDAY TWEET — ON 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF PIVOTAL HOUSE VOTE, MARTHA MCSALLY HAUNTED BY DECISION TO STRIP LIFE-SAVING HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FROM MILLIONS OF AMERICANS: “On the anniversary of her vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, we remember how Martha McSally dangerously voted to strip ten million Americans and 2.8 million Arizonans of life-saving health care coverage,” said HRC Arizona State Director Bridget Sharpe(@bridgetsharpeAZ). “McSally’s vote would have negatively impacted communities already facing discrimination and health care disparities, including the LGBTQ community. Millions of Arizonans with pre-existing conditions will not forget how McSally has failed them over and again in Washington. McSally can run but she cannot hide from her record on health care.” More from HRC.
Today marks the third anniversary of Sen. Martha McSally voting for the American Health Care Act, which would have gutted protections for millions of Arizonans living with pre-existing conditions.
We remember and we will vote her out in November. t.co/nbVIQsXqMa
AN ARMY OF EQUALITY VOTERS — HOW LGBTQ ORGANIZATIONS HAVE MOBILIZED THE COMMUNITY: “We knew that shifting perceptions on LGBTQ issues like same-sex marriage and non-discrimination protections, as well as the massive turnout of LGBTQ people gave [HRC] a new opportunity, and that opportunity was to expand our organizing to people whose views were aligned with ours and to people whose voting habits could be influenced by our efforts,” says HRC National Press Secretary for Campaigns Lucas Acosta(@LucasRAcosta). More from QNotes.
TWO PUERTO RICAN MEN CHARGED UNDER FEDERAL HATE CRIMES LAW FOR MURDER OF TWO TRANSGENDER WOMEN: Read more here.
DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC, UNITED METHODIST CHURCH TO POSTPONE 2020 GENERAL CONFERENCE & VOTE OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, ORDINATION OF LGBTQ PASTORS: More from AP.
GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!
LONDON FASHION WEEK IS GOING GENDER NEUTRAL AND VIRTUAL: “The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in and how we want to live our lives and build businesses when we get through this,” said Caroline Rush (@rushcaroline), the chief executive of the British Fashion Council, in a statement. More from them.
PUERTO RICAN PRO VOLLEYBALL PLAYER DENNIS DEL VALLE COMES OUT AS GAY: “I wanted to use this platform not to tell the world my story or who I am. But to try to inspire other people, kids, especially athletes that don’t have anyone to look up to.” More from OutSports.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
KENYAN COURT REFUSES TO LIFT ITS BAN ON LGBTQ FILM RAFIKI: More fromthem.
ISRAEL POSTPONES LGBTQ PRIDE PARADES DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC: More from Haaretz.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break! The New York Times shares the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners list, which includes musical-theater writer Michael R. Jackson (@TheLivingMJ) and poet Jericho Brown (@jerichobrown), both of whom are gay Black men
Tiger King’s Joe Exotic to Formally Seek Presidential Pardon from Donald Trump
Tiger King‘s Joe Exotic is planning to formally seek a pardon from Donald Trump and his legal team is planning a PR campaign involving a bus traveling to the White House to be unveiled shortly, according to TMZ.
TMZ reports: “They wrapped a big bus and plan to roll out the big announcement in a few days, but the endgame is clear … get Joe out of prison. There are interesting grounds for a pardon. For starters, Joe told everyone who would listen that he wanted Carol dead and even suggested to various people — some he hardly knew — that he’d pay as much as $50,000 to have Carol murdered.”
In early April, the subject of pardoning Joe Exotic was brought up to Trump by a White House reporter, who asked, “The man who’s the star of this is a former zoo owner who’s serving a 22-year prison sentence. He’s asking you for a pardon, saying he was unfairly convicted. Your son yesterday jokingly said that he was going to advocate for it. and I’m just wondering if you’ve seen the show and if you have any thoughts on pardoning Joe Exotic.”
