End Of An Era: Gay.Com Chat Rooms Are No More As Of Today

It’s the end of an era.

Gay.com, the once thriving website that catered to gay men looking to hookup, is under new management as of today and some pretty big changes are underway.

Related: Bathhouses And Beyond: A Brief History Of Gay Cruising

Gay men of the late ’90s and early ’00s surely remember hours (and hours) spent glued to at their desktop computers hopping from chat room to chat room messaging guys, scanning photos, then sending them alias email addresses. It was the original Grindr.

Well now, according to the site’s FAQ page, those iconic chatrooms will “disappear”  as of August 1, 2016.

Related: If Gay.com Goes Offline and Hundreds of Thousands of People Can’t Hook Up, Does It Make a Sound?

“All the personal information you provided in your profile, including pictures and stories, will be permanently deleted,” the page continues. “Unfortunately, you will not able to retrieve any of your old information. … The dating website as you know it, will not be coming back.”

Honestly, we haven’t logged onto Gay.com in probably about a decade, maybe longer. In fact, we don’t even remember our usernames or passwords anymore. But it’s still sad to think that all those guys we had once favorited and all those chats records we had saved will cease to exist.

Related: Remorseless Confession Of Grindr Catfisher May Send Chill Down Your Spine

What are some of your best (and worse) Gay.com memories? Share them in the comments section below…

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Did Gus Kenworthy Delete Evidence Of Partying With Prince Of Death-To-Gays Brunei?

According to an Instagram photo floating around this weekend, Gus Kenworthy (a professional skier), Matt Wilkas (an actor), and Caitlyn Jenner (an embarrassment) all went to a party for the son of the Sultan of Brunei. And they didn’t get stoned to death, not even once!

The photo comes via Kenneth Walsh of Kenneth in the 212. He claims that Gus posted a photo of the trio at a party before deleting it a few minutes later. According to Kenneth, the party was a celebration for the Sultan’s son. As you’ve surely heard, Brunei imposes harsh penalties on LGBTs, up to and including death for consensual gay sex. Unsurprisingly, the laws there are even worse for women.

So is it true? Well, Caitlyn was photographed entering a birthday party this weekend by the Daily Mail, though they didn’t say whose. And Prince Azim’s birthday is indeed July 29.

But is the photo of the trio actually from the Prince’s birthday? That’s harder to verify. There don’t seem to be any reports of Azim throwing a party this weekend (which doesn’t mean he didn’t) so it’s possible it’s a misunderstanding, a hoax, a joke, or simply a malicious lie someone cooked up to make everyone look bad. Or it could be true.

But hey, who cares about accuracy! Accuse first, ask questions later, that’s how we like to do things.

What’s not in dispute, though, is the harsh and horrible regime ruling the country. It’s not just queer people who suffer under the absolute monarchy; with religious law strictly enforced, everyone is forced to endure terrible treatment with the worst directed at marginalized groups.

If the rumors are indeed true, and these celebs did attend a bash for a despotic family, now would be a great opportunity to restore their standing the community by speaking out against the regime. Actually, it would be nice if they did so regardless of whether they were actually there.

We’ll wait.

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Lesbian Shot Dead in Front of Fiancee Weeks Before Wedding in Downtown Austin – VIDEO

Just over a month before she was set to marry her fiancee, a California woman was killed early Sunday when gunfire broke out on a crowded street in downtown Austin.

Teqnika Moultrie (above right), 30, who lives in the Bay Area, had been visiting her fiancee’s family in the Texas capital.

Moultrie and her fiancee, Sabrina Rudd (above left), planned to marry in September. They were picking up donuts in Austin’s 6th Street entertainment district shortly after 2 a.m. when Moultrie was struck in the head by a stray bullet.

“The violence needs to stop,” Teqnika’s brother, Richard Moultrie, told KTBC-TV. “Every day you look on Facebook, you look on the news, it’s every day something tragic is happening. Something has to stop, something has to give.”

When the gunfire erupted, Rudd dove to the ground before looking back to see that Moultrie had suffered “a devastating gunshot wound to the head,” according to police reports.

“She’s taking it really, really hard,” Richard Moultrie said of Rudd.

Police are still looking for the alleged shooter, 24-year-old Endicott Ishmael McCray (right), who’s now wanted on a charge of first-degree murder.

The Austin Statesman reports that McCray pulled a gun from his waistband and opened fire after he had been shoved by another man he was with. Panic erupted on 6th Street as revelers jammed the streets just as bars were closing, and police initially described it as an active shooter situation.

In addition to killing Moultrie, police say McCray wounded five people, four of whom were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

“He’s destroyed his own life, he’s destroyed my sister’s life, and he’s destroyed our life. He needs to pay for what he’s done,” Richard Moultrie said.

Watch KTBC’s report below.

The post Lesbian Shot Dead in Front of Fiancee Weeks Before Wedding in Downtown Austin – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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Marco Rubio To Headline Anti-LGBT Event in Orlando on Two Month Anniversary of Pulse Massacre

Senator Marco Rubio will headline an anti-LGBT religious conference being held in Orlando on the two month anniversary of the massacre at gay nightclub Pulse.

Right Wing Watch reports: 

The Orlando-based Liberty Counsel Action, an extreme anti-LGBT group whose affiliate is famous for representing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis in her stand against the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision, announced in an email [on July 27] that the Florida Renewal Project will be hosting an event called “Rediscovering God in America” in August. The event will be headlined by Rubio, who will speak alongside anti-LGBT activists David Barton, Bill Federer, Ken Graves and Mat Staver.

The Florida Renewal Project is an affiliate of conservative activist David Lane’s American Renewal Project, which hosts “Rediscovering God” conferences around the country.

Mat Staver is perhaps the most famous person on that list, as he represented anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis as she defied the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage.

Another individual slated to appear at the conference is notorious homophobe David Lane. More on his record via NCRM: 

Lane has called homosexuality “debauchery,” suggested that Christians should be prepared to martyr themselves in order to prevent marriage equality, and has said that homosexuality is a moral crisis that “threatened our utter destruction.”

Lane’s focus for several years has been to encourage anti-LGBT Christian pastorsto run for political offices across local, state, and national levels. He has been closely tied to Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, and Ted Cruz, and in 2013 Lane wrote an op-ed calling for a “war to restore a Christian America.”

Rubio previously insinuated that it was the Orlando massacre which motivated him to seek re-election to the Senate after saying he would not seek re-election if he lost his bid for the Republican nomination for president (which he did). And while Rubio tried to court favor with the LGBT community in the days following the massacre, he’s apparently gone back to his old habits of pal-ing around with dangerous homophobes who sow the seeds of violent anti-LGBT crimes with their hateful rhetoric.

Eliel Cruz, Executive Director of Faith in America, a religious organization focused on sending affirming messages to LGBT people of faith, blasted Rubio in a statement issued Monday.

Said Cruz,

“The event ‘Rediscovering God in America Renewal Project’ is a who’s who [of] some of the country’s most hateful anti-LGBT persons. It’s incredulous a Senator of [the] United States is willing to collude with individuals who are dedicated to oppressing LGBT people. The beliefs shared by this group actively harm LGBT people. This is not the America we want. God will not be found anywhere near that event.”

Senator @marcorubio is headlining a vehemently anti LGBT conference in Orlando just after Pulse. Our statement: pic.twitter.com/8lgJA1Sgbc

— Eliel Cruz (@elielcruz) August 1, 2016

The post Marco Rubio To Headline Anti-LGBT Event in Orlando on Two Month Anniversary of Pulse Massacre appeared first on Towleroad.

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All-star HIV and AIDS awareness PSA set to begin airing across the nation this month

www.glaad.org/blog/all-star-hiv-and-aids-awareness-psa-set-begin-airing-across-nation-month

Memphis Man Says Uber Driver Called Him ‘Faggot,’ Tried to Run Him Over – VIDEO

A Memphis businessman says a driver for the ride-hailing service Uber repeatedly called him a “faggot,” told him to “suck [my] dick,” and then tried to run him over on Friday night.

Ray Rico (above), the owner of a local web design company, was leaving Dru’s Place, a bar and restaurant that caters to the LGBT community in midtown Memphis, when he hailed an Uber ride. After Rico got into the car with his take-out food — a box of pizza — the driver allegedly told him, “Faggot, no food in my car.”

Rico was able to snap these photos of the #Uber driver’s car and report the incident to police and the company pic.twitter.com/jEVJALhRn8

— Michael Quander WREG (@MikeQReports) August 1, 2016

Offended by the gay slur, Rico told the driver to stop and let him out. That’s when the driver said, “Get the fuck out, you suck my dick.” Rico then hailed another Uber ride, but he claims the same driver in the same vehicle — with a different profile on the app — showed up. When Rico opened the door and asked for the driver’s name, he said, “Fuck you, fag. Suck my cock,” before putting the vehicle in reverse and backing into Rico.

Uber, which has suspended the driver pending its investigation, claims its system shows the driver picked up a different customer and didn’t try to pick up Rico again, according to WREG-TV. The driver, meanwhile, reportedly claims Rico ran back to his car and began yelling obscenities while he was picking up the other customer.

The customer sent @3onyourside this screen shot of the #Uber driver he said used gay slurs and tried to run him over pic.twitter.com/1jJDJQHMPJ

— Michael Quander WREG (@MikeQReports) August 1, 2016

Rico took screen grabs of the driver’s profile and snapped photos of the vehicle and its license plate. He also filed a police report.

“Mr. Rico’s experience is an outrageous assault on his safety and dignity and therefore an assault on all LGBT Memphians,” Tennessee Equality Project board chair Ginger Leonard said in a statement. “Uber has begun an investigation of the incident and Mr. Rico is exploring pressing criminal charges.  We call on Uber to complete its investigation quickly and to work with TEP on a review of its diversity training for drivers.”

Watch WREG’s report below.

The post Memphis Man Says Uber Driver Called Him ‘Faggot,’ Tried to Run Him Over – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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Nick Jonas Gets Wet With Bear Grylls and More TV This Week

Check out our weekly guide to TV this week, and make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.

Things get wet and wild when pop-star and professional gay-baiter Nick Jonas gets together with Bear Grylls on the season three premiere of Running Wild With Bear Grylls tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on NBC. Other celebs walking on the wild side with Bear this season include Courteney Cox, Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens.

She’s more than 90 years old, but she’s still serving couture costume jewelry realness. Fashion icon Iris Apfel is the focus of Albert Maysles’ documentary, Iris, tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on PBS.

Ten years later the cast of MTV’s The Hills are back to dish on all the drama on The Hills: That Was Then, This Is Now Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on MTV. Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port and Heidi Pratt are back to spill the T on the real story behind one of the most influential reality shows.

All the pomp and fanfare and Bob Costas you can stand will be on full display Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC when the 2016 Rio Olympic Games kicks off officially with the opening ceremonies.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic children’s tale The Little Prince gets a gorgeous animated treatment in a new film featuring the voices of Jeff Bridges and Rachel McAdams. Initially meant for theatrical release, the movie will drop on Netflix this Friday.

What are you watching this week on TV?

The post Nick Jonas Gets Wet With Bear Grylls and More TV This Week appeared first on Towleroad.

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All-star HIV & AIDS awareness PSA set to air across the nation this month

www.glaad.org/blog/all-star-hiv-aids-awareness-psa-set-air-across-nation-month