Frank Ocean Draws on Fantasy in New Calvin Klein Campaign Spot: WATCH

With the promise of a new album looming on the horizon, Frank Ocean makes his debut in Calvin Klein’s 2016 Global #MyCalvins campaign shot by photographer and filmmaker Tyrone Lebon.

Says Ocean in the ad:

“If you start a habit and you keep it up for four or five weeks and you stop you feel like you’re missing something in your day. That’s what music is to me. It feels like a necessary act.

“It takes a mind to worry, a conscience to feel ashamed, but there’s no place to hide out here. These skies are filled with planes. You sort of romanticize what’s in the past – which is fantasy, cause it’s not exactly how it went down. Fantasy plays the role of almost like a supplement. You draw on fantasy to make things hyperreal I guess, saturate the colors.”

RELATED: Frank Ocean Pens Emotional Response to Orlando Shooting

Watch:

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‘Fox & Friends’ Worries the Statue of Liberty is a Dude: WATCH

With a finely tuned focus on the important issues of the day, Fox & Friends took time out of a busy schedule last weekend to assuage fears that the Statue of Liberty could be a man.

In a Discovery Family Channel documentary that aired on Sunday night, author and journalist Elizabeth Mitchell discussed a new theory that French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s model for the Statue of Liberty was his brother. It is generally believed that Bartholdi used his mother as inspiration for the statue’s face.

Fox & Friends host Peter Doocy spoke with New York University Professor Edward Berenson about the new theory.

Raw Story reports:

“Is Lady Liberty actually a man?” Fox News host Peter Doocy asked, sounding shocked.

“This guy [Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi], when he was in New York wrote his mother every single day,” Berenson insisted. “If he wasn’t going to do his mom and was going to do his brother instead, we’d have that in the correspondence.”

“I just assume somebody was playing a prank on us,” Doocy opined. “Are we supposed to think this French guy was pulling a fast one the U.S., ‘Hey, I’m going to say it’s a woman but it’s really going to be a guy. And they’re not going to be able to figure it out for a really long time.’”

Berenson assured Doocy he need not be concerned with what’s beneath lady liberty’s robes:

“This was not a tongue-in-cheek gift. This was a real serious business. He loved the United States, he loved American liberty.”

“Is it possible the Statue of Liberty transcends both masculinity and femininity?” co-host Anna Kooiman wondered. “That it’s just a symbol of liberty?”

“I think there’s no question she’s a woman,” Berenson replied. “But she’s [a] very powerful woman.”

“There’s no question that she’s a tough lady,” he added. “She’s a lady.”

RELATED: Male Version of Statue of Liberty Proposed for Charleston Harbor

There’s a theory floating around that the Statue of Liberty is a man…

We’re here.

We’ve reached peak “People have nothing better to do.”

— Justin (@MCCountChill) July 3, 2016

Watch the Fox & Friends segment, below.

[Image labeled for reuse via Pixabay.com]

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"Hands" artists, songwriters, producers promote the tribute single

www.glaad.org/blog/hands-artists-songwriters-producers-promote-tribute-single

DOJ Asks Federal Judge to Halt NC’s HB 2 as Trump Says He Supports the Anti-LGBT Law

The Justice Department yesterday asked a federal judge to put the brakes on North Carolina’s heinous anti-trans “bathroom bill” citing “state-sanctioned discrimination.”

The “bathroom” portion of the law addresses what the Justice Department says is a “non-existent problem” by prohibiting trans people from using public restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

RELATED: Donald Trump Promises Evangelicals He’ll Defend Marriage and Family: WATCH

Justice sued North Carolina earlier this year, alleging that HB 2 violates federal nondiscrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Violence Against Women Act.

Buzzfeed reports:

In the Tuesday motion in one of several lawsuits over HB 2, the Justice Department asked for “a preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants from complying with or implementing Section 1.3 of North Carolina Session Law 2016-3, House Bill 2”…

In the Justice Department filing, the lawyers filed a 70-page memorandum of law explaining their legal reasoning for seeking the injunction. Primarily, the lawyers note that a recent ruling from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals – the court that hears appeals out of North Carolina – “establishes the United States’ strong likelihood of success under Title IX.” The lawyers went on to argue that the “controlling logic” of that case – G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board — and the “growing consensus” among other courts suggests the same should be true of the Title VII and VAWA claims. In addition, they note, VAWA explicitly covers gender identity-based discrimination.

“Excluding transgender men and women from bathroom and changing facilities consistent with their gender identity causes significant and irreparable physical, psychological, economic, social, and stigmatic harm to transgender people,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in the motion.

The filing came on the same day that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump visited North Carolina for campaign events. While Clinton did not address HB2, Trump told reporters that he supports HB2 while nonetheless claiming to be “better for the gay community.” Trump has come under fire for claiming at the rally for saying that Saddam Hussein “did good” by killing terrorists. 

If Donald Trump is so good for #women & #LGBT I dare him to express his support for abortion rights and LGBT rights to this #Raleigh crowd.

— K.M. O’Sullivan (@KellyMOSullivan) July 6, 2016

Watch the Trump rally in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday.

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Young Man Comes Out to Dad on Prom Night in Moving Hallmark Short Film: WATCH

In The Beginning, a new short film produced by Hallmark Card’s streaming service Feeln, a young man comes out to his father on prom night, and tells him that his buddy Casey who’s driving him to prom is actually his prom date.

Vince, the father, is giving the last touches on a boutonniere he made for his “ladykiller” son Davis, when between a few uncomfortable pauses and a little “game score” talk the son’s revelations change the atmosphere drastically.

Dad was not expecting to hear that.

To make things more interesting, good-looking buddy Casey has just arrived to take “stud” son Davis to Prom. “Dad, you remember Casey?”

Awkward…

Thankfully, this coming-out story has a happy ending and it shows a father’s unconditional love for his son. Love no matter what.

Check out the video below:

Feeln is a part of Hallmark Cards and is based in Los Angeles, California. It features “heartfelt stories of love and togetherness, anytime, anywhere.”

The Beginning was directed by Melanie McGraw and written by Steven Tagle, a recipient of the 2016 Asian American Writers’ Workshop Margins Fellowship and one of Lambda Literary’s 2010 Emerging LGBT Voices.

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Andy Cohen Grills Anderson Cooper About His Face-Off with Pam Bondi: WATCH

Anderson Cooper spoke to Andy Cohen about his epic face-off with anti-gay Florida attorney general Pam Bondi following the Orlando massacre.

Last month, Cooper took Bondi to task for her about-face on LGBT rights in the wake of the Orlando shooting. Although Bondi has been vocal in her fight against same-sex marriage in the state, she has signaled her support for the LGBT community, stating that “anyone who attacks our LGBT community, anyone who attacks anyone in our state, will be gone after to the fullest extent of the law.”

@PamBondi I enjoy watching @GOP hypocrites like you getting caught lying and whining when your true self is exposed: t.co/Wa0YjpBo8l

— Richard Green (@greenrichardg) July 2, 2016

RELATED: Florida AG Pam Bondi Extends Insincere Olive Branch to the Gay Couples She Fought So Hard Against

Cooper said to Bondi:

“I talked to a lot of gay and lesbian people here yesterday who are not fans of yours and who said that they thought you were being a hypocrite, that you for years have fought – you basically gone after gay people, said that in court that gay people simply by fighting for marriage equality were trying to do harm to the people of Florida. To induce public harm, I believe was the term you used in court. Do you really think you’re a champion of the gay community?”

Bondi argued that she was merely defending the state constitution, adding that she “never said I don’t like gay people, that’s ridiculous.”

At a June 30th OneOrlando Fund event, in conversation with Cohen, Cooper said:

“She knew it didn’t go particularly well.

“We ended up shaking hands and she said she thought I didn’t think I liked her and I said, ‘I have no personal feelings about you whatsoever.’ It’s not my job to go out to dinner and go out and be friends with people I’m covering.

“I tried to be as respectful as possible and let her talk about what she wanted to talk about and when the list of things she actually could talk about were limited.

“Clearly she wasn’t happy with how it all ended up but that’s okay.”

The OneOrlando Fund aims to provide support to the victims of the Pulse tragedy and their families. Cohen and Cooper raised $240,000 for the Fund.

Watch the Cooper/Bondi grilling below followed by the Cooper/Cohen interview.

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PHOTOS: Explore India's 50 Shades of Gay

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2016/7/06/photos-explore-indias-50-shades-gay