Lady Gaga Reveals the Personal Meaning Behind Her New Album, ‘Joanne’ – LISTEN

Lady Gaga has revealed that her upcoming album will be titled Joanne and is slated for an October 21 release.

Gaga made the announcement on social media and during an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1. She says she hopes to have her first solo album since Artpop completed within the next 48 hours. Tick tock.

PREVIOUSLY – Lady Gaga Lets It All Hang Out at First ‘Perfect Illusion’ Performance in London as New Remix Drops: WATCH

Gaga also revealed the very personal meaning of the album’s title, as Rolling Stone reports: 

Gaga also said that Joanne was named for her late aunt, whose death from lupus at age 19 left a lasting wound on the singer’s father’s family (Gaga’s middle name is also Joanne). Gaga called the album’s title track “the true heart and soul of the record” and of the album as a whole added, “As I returned to my home life and spending time with my friends and family and getting out of the mainstream limelight for a minute, the experiences of our family and our challenges that make us who we are. It’s everything about Joanne … it’s all the toughness of the pain of losing her that made us all strong and made us who we are. She is the woman of my past who is becoming and helping me bring more of my honest woman self into the future.”

Listen to the interview below.

The post Lady Gaga Reveals the Personal Meaning Behind Her New Album, ‘Joanne’ – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/06kTJGPchoc/

Man Found Guilty in ‘Dallas BBQ’ Attack Sentenced to 9 Years 

Bayna-Lekheim El-Amin, 42, the man at the center of a brutal attack in a New York restaurant in 2015, was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison and three years post-release supervision.

El-Amin was found guilty in May of attempted assault in the first degree and assault in the second degree for an attack on a gay couple at Dallas BBQ in Chelsea.

The couple who El-Amin attacked were Jonathan Snipes, 33, and, Ethan York-Adams, 26. The pair have since split.

Video of the attack went viral almost immediately after it surfaced. And though the incident was initially construed as an anti-gay hate crime, additional footage revealed that Snipes had earlier in the evening assaulted El-Amin with a “light purse.” After that altercation ended, there was an interlude before El-Amin retaliated by hitting Snipes over the head with a chair.

Gay City News reports on Thursday’s sentencing:

“The jury rejected your claim of self-defense,” said Arlene Goldberg, the judge who heard the case in Manhattan Supreme Court, on September 15. “That you did not cause serious physical injury to them was only a matter of luck.” […]

“The case boils down to this defendant took it too far,” said Leah Saxtein, the prosecutor on the case, during the sentencing. “He decided to get revenge… He used a dangerous instrument to strike them in the most vulnerable part of the human body.”

As news of the incident played out in the media, what was first thought to be an anti-gay hate crime was reinterpreted by some as underscoring a dangerous message about race:

On May 27 of this year, Robb Stone, an artist who now lives in Los Angeles, posted a Facebook picture of Snipes and York-Adams with lengthy text that described them “a pair of Privileged assholes.” Within 10 days, the post had 569 shares and 769 likes.

Ultimately, the view became that El-Amin was facing multiple felony charges because Snipes and York-Adams were white and El-Amin was black.

RELATED – New Footage of ‘Gay Bashing’ at NYC’s Dallas BBQ Raises Questions: WATCH

The judge disagreed with this interpretation, saying, “I know that you want to cast this, your supporters as well, as an issue about race. I don’t see it that way… When you picked up that chair that was a criminal act that cannot be excused.”

During the sentencing, El-Amin referred to Snipes and York-Adams as “drunk white men who felt they were entitled to swing on me.”

The post Man Found Guilty in ‘Dallas BBQ’ Attack Sentenced to 9 Years  appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/vsevLGmnEZE/

Indonesia's Latest Assault on LGBTs: Gay App Ban

In moving to deny access to apps like Grindr, the world’s fourth most populous nation continues to isolate and endanger its LGBT citizens.

www.advocate.com/world/2016/9/15/indonesias-latest-assault-lgbts-gay-app-ban

Nine-Year Sentence for Man Convicted in Chair Attack at NYC Restaurant

Bayna-Lekheim El-Amin had been convicted of assaulting a gay couple at the Dallas BBQ restaurant in Chelsea.

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/9/15/nine-year-sentence-man-convicted-chair-attack-nyc-restaurant

Keith Olbermann: Clinton Wrong, 100% Of Trump Supporters ‘Deplorable’

Just how many of Donald Trump‘s supporters are deplorable? Hillary Clinton estimated half, with her “basket of deplorables” comment, before backing down shortly after. Keith Olbermann, in his new position as GQ‘s political correspondent, has released a new video in which he says that all of Trump’s supporters belong in that basket.

Related: New Studies Prove Hillary Clinton Is Right About Trump’s ‘Deplorable’ Supporters

Funny, Olbermann notes, that we are in a position of not debating whether or not a presidential candidate’s supporters are deplorable, but rather how many of them are.

Clinton called Trump supporters, “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic.”

Olbermann looks at the campaign insiders, starting with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who refused to denounce David Duke as deplorable. Then there is Trump surrogate Carl Palodino, who called for Loretta Lynch to be lynched and sent out a video of an African tribal dance with the email title “Obama inauguration rehearsal.”

Racist? Check.

Olbermann then mentions Trump making sexist comments about Megyn Kelly, Mika Brzezinski, Heidi Cruz, and Carly Fiorina.

Sexist? Check.

Then there’s Robert Jeffress, the Texas megachurch pastor, who led the prayer at a Trump rally in June, a year after he said that gay rights will pave the way for the Antichrist.

Homophobic? Check.

Related: Mike Pence’s Seven Most Viciously Antigay Moments 

Palodino’s name is evoked once again, for smearing Khzir Khan by speculating that he might be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or a supporter of ISIS.

Islamophobic? Check.

Katrina Pierson is called out next for her bigotry. She tweeted out, “Perfect Obama’s dad born in Africa, Mitt Romney’s dad born in Mexico. Any pure breeds left?” Oh, and Pierson is also antigay (surprise, surprise).

Xenophobic? Check.

“These are campaign leaders, surrogates, friends of Mr. Trump. If they’re not talking to a ‘basket of deplorables’ who are they talking to?” Olbermann asks. “Why would you have them there? You say stuff like that at work, you get fired, you say it at school, you get suspended. But, happily Trump is there to say, ‘No, it’s okay to hate. Better than that, you can hate out loud! We’ll just call it ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘Make America Great Again.’”

There are also the supporters, who have routinely turned violent at rallies, including recently in Asheville, North Carolina, where a man assaulted protesters inside the rally and another man punched an elderly woman in the face for telling him he better learn Russian (due to the Trump campaign’s apparent coziness with the Putin dictatorship).

Related: Donald Trump Supporters Too Intolerant To Pass His “Extreme Vetting” Test

But is it not possible to be a Trump supporter who doesn’t harbor these despicable worldviews?

“If you’re not condemning this madness and repudiating these deplorable people, and you are not racist, not sexist, not homophobic, not Islamophobic or not xenophobic, if you’re supporting him not for those things but in spite of them, you are even more deplorable,” Olbermann says.

Watch the video below.

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/a3AIVgZJ1Lg/keith-olbermann-clinton-wrong-100-trump-supporters-deplorable-20160915

16-Year-Old Figure Skater Shuts Down Antigay Internet Trolls

16-year-old figure skater Donovan Carrillo performed a routine in the recently held Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Japan to the song “Hasta Que te Conocí,” by Juan Gabriel that earned him adoration and a spot at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Unfortunately, it also caught the attention of some homophobic trolls. Slurs and derogatory remarks began coming in, and Carrillo decided to meet them head on in a series of tweets:

“I’m not bothered being called gay because I’m not. It infuriates me that people see the word ‘gay’ as a joke or an insult towards my hard work.”

No me molesta que me llamen gay porque NO lo soy. Me enfurece que vean la palabra gay como una burla o un insulto a mi esfuerzo.

— Donovan Carrillo (@DonovanDCarr) September 13, 2016

“I admire and respect the LGBT community because I’m friends with a lot of their members, but I am not part of that community.”

Admiro y respeto a la comunidad LGBT porque convivo con muchos de sus miembros pero no soy parte de esa comunidad. t.co/Q3CHxR9iIU

— Donovan Carrillo (@DonovanDCarr) September 13, 2016

“The fact that I’m an ice skater does not mean that I’m gay. Just like a soccer player isn’t automatically heterosexual.”

El hecho de que yo patine no quiere decir que lo sea. Así como un futbolista no garantiza que sea heterosexual t.co/YaUFL0J3Ag

— Donovan Carrillo (@DonovanDCarr) September 13, 2016

Related: Soccer Player Richard Chaplow Banned Two Games For Verbal Abuse Of Openly Gay Robbie Rogers

“I thank everyone for your congratulations and words of encouragement. I hope to not disappoint you. I will continue to train.”

Agradezco todas sus felicitaciones y palabras de aliento. Espero no decepcionarlos. A continuar con el entrenamiento!

— Donovan Carrillo (@DonovanDCarr) September 13, 2016

“My mom is a big, BIG fan and it’s a song that brings her a lot of memories,” Carillo said on Twitter when asked about his song choice. “It’s an ode to my mother and an homage to the Divo.”

@johannheroz Mi mamá es muy, MUY fan y es una canción que le trae muchos recuerdos a ella. Es una oda a mi madre y un agradecimiento al Divo

— Donovan Carrillo (@DonovanDCarr) September 13, 2016

Gabriel recently passed away. He never came out during his life, although he was presumed to be gay by many. When asked by an interviewer about his sexual orientation he famously said, “Don’t ask about something that is obvious.”

Related: Juan Gabriel, “The Mexican Elton John,” Reveals Intimate Video With Another Man

Watch Carrillo’s performance in the video below.

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/dkN4AUwdXps/16-year-old-figure-skater-shuts-antigay-internet-trolls-20160915

Donald Trump Jr. Makes Holocaust Joke in Attack on Hillary Clinton and the Media: LISTEN

Donald Trump Jr. made a Holocaust joke with regard to the media’s treatment of his father today in a radio interview with Mike Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.

Trump Jr. was comparing treatment of his father by the media to that of Hillary Clinton:

“The media has been her number one surrogate in this. Without the media, this wouldn’t even be a contest. But the media has built her up. They’ve let her slide on every indiscrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of the thing. I mean, if Republicans were doing that, they’d be warming up the gas chamber right now. It’s a very different system — there’s nothing fair about it.”

Listen:

The comments caused immediate reaction:

Pro-tip to Trump surrogates: If you don’t want to sound like Nazis, don’t make specious Holocaust references. t.co/WQXjyKWw6V

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) September 15, 2016

Hey @DonaldJTrumpJr: when your dad’s campaign is associated with Nazis & white supremacists, maybe gas chamber “jokes” aren’t the best idea.

— Aaron Gouveia (@DaddyFiles) September 15, 2016

.@DonaldJTrumpJr: We hope you understand the sensitivity and hurt of making Holocaust jokes. We hope you retract.t.co/jL2ZC9Z8pH

— ADL (@ADL_National) September 15, 2016

Trump Jr. later told MSNBC’s Katy Tur that the joke was not at all anti-Semitic, that he was referencing “corporal punishment”:

Trump Jr. tells @KatyTurNBC that his “gas chamber” comment is referencing corporal punishment, not in any way anti-Semitic.

— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) September 15, 2016

The post Donald Trump Jr. Makes Holocaust Joke in Attack on Hillary Clinton and the Media: LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/Z_bLsh1CmB0/

‘Gay Voice’ Donald Trump Gets Distracted by Fantasies About Sailors – WATCH

Sassy Donald Trump, aka Donald Trump with a ‘gay voice’, is back in a new dubbing from YouTuber Peter Serafinowicz. And this time, Serafinowicz focuses on a speech where Trump seems to get a little distracted by the prospect of American sailors who really wanna to give it to…Iran. Yep, definitely Iran.

Said Trump, “I know those captains and I know those people on those boats and boy would they like to give it to ’em.”

PREVIOUSLY: ‘Gay Voice’ Donald Trump Meets Hunky Football Players and Wrestlers – WATCH

The post ‘Gay Voice’ Donald Trump Gets Distracted by Fantasies About Sailors – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/MOu22aApOpc/

Haikus On Hotties is the Calendar You Need for 2017 – LOOK, WATCH

Lovers of poetry and hot men will want to back the “Haikus On Hotties” calendar on Kickstarter.

The calendar originated last year as “Haikus with Hotties.” The key difference this year is that the haikus are actually being put on the bodies of Asian-American hotties.

Said the creators of this year’s calendar on Kickstarter, “This time around, [hot Asian-American guys] write one haiku, and the only rule is that it has to be about hotness. And we have to figure out a way to get it on them — whether it’s on clothing, their bodies or some other creative interpretation of Haikus On Hotties.”

As for who you can expect in this year’s calendar, look for Gerrand Lobo (Master of None), fitness icon Kenta Seki, and the Sudarso brothers (Yoshi and Peter Sudarso, below).

Here’s a sample of some concept art for this year’s calendar.

And should you have suggestions about Asian-American hotties that should be on this year’s calendar, Haikus On Hotties is totally open to suggestions:

We have more hotties that we’ll be announcing throughout the campaign. But you should know that we don’t have ALL 13 yet (12 months + cover model). We still have about 5 slots left, so if you have strong feelings about who MUST be on the calendar, tweet Ada Tseng (@adatseng) to tell us “I need [NAME OF HOT MAN] @twitterhandlehere on my 2017 #HaikusOnHotties calendar. It is a matter of life & hotness! kck.st/2cn0HS4” 

Keep in mind though, even though Hollywood doesn’t realize it yet, there are way more than enough Asian American hotties to fill up at least 8 calendars a year, so we can’t get everybody…. but we’ll do our best to pick a hot mix of 13.

Watch the Kickstarter video for Haikus On Hotties, below, and consider supporting them HERE.

[h/t ONTD]

The post Haikus On Hotties is the Calendar You Need for 2017 – LOOK, WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/Xa-hEmNo53U/