Kentucky principal who banned books for “homosexual content” arrested for child smut
Todd Wilson (image via Clark County Detention Center)
In 2009, Todd Wilson — the now 54-year-old former-principal of the Clark County Area Technology Center in Winchester, Kentucky — banned several books from his school because of their “homosexual content.” Now, 10 years later, color us shocked, Wilson has been arrested for allegedly sharing kiddie smut.
Kentucky state troopers claim that Wilson “had about 15 images of child pornography, which resulted in 15 counts of distribution of matter portraying sexual performance by a minor, and another 15 counts of possessing matter portraying sexual performance by a minor,” according to Newsweek.
He’s now being held on $25,000 bail in the Clark County Detention Center.
Back in 2009, Wilson banned books like “Lessons From a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles (which features two young girls who kiss and touch each other while playing an abusive game of “House”) and Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson (in which a newly buff high school student gets accused of being gay for not wanting to sleep with a girl)” as optional selections offered by one of the English teachers to her students, according to Kentucky School News and Commentary.
Admittedly, Wilson also banned a few other books which didn’t delve into LGBTQ themes, but that doesn’t make his actions any less hostile to LGBTQ kids who could’ve benefit from reading any depictions of same-sex attraction, even complicated ones.
The books he banned also delved into other important topics like alcoholism, hypocrisy, suicide and manipulation by adults — all important themes that you won’t always find in classics like Beowulf.
While the banned books remained available in the school library and the school’s Moo Moo Book Club, far fewer students found them there than they would have had they been suggested for class reading.
The Montgomery County High School administration, the local school board and district superintendent supported the banning and are now working with authorities in their case against Wilson.
EMMYS: Randy Rainbow talks excitement over first Emmy nomination, LGBTQ representation in entertainment, and growing popularity on YouTube
Credit: Randy Rainbow
Among the long list of LGBTQ nominees at the 71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, there are a number of first-time nominees, including Randy Rainbow, whose YouTube comedy series “The Randy Rainbow Show” is nominated for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series.
A comedian and singer, Randy Rainbow is best known for his series of spoofs and song parodies, often providing commentary on the current American political climate. Over the past decade, Randy has earned himself a loyal fan base, accumulating over 300,000 subscribers and over 44 million views on his YouTube channel. Randy has also taken his comedy on the road, touring the U.S. to sold-out shows with “Randy Rainbow Live.”
This week, GLAAD had the chance to catch up with Randy to talk about his Emmy nomination, his growing success on YouTube, and the significance of LGBTQ representation at this year’s Emmys.
GLAAD: How does it feel to be nominated for your first ever Emmy this year? What was your reaction when you found out?
Randy Rainbow: It was totally surreal. I had just wrapped an interview with NPR when I got the news. Needless to say, it feels incredible. My reaction when I found out? Elation followed by…. WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO WEAR????
G: Your YouTube comedy series “The Randy Rainbow Show” is known for its parody videos with a political focus. What inspired you to take this route with your comedy?
RR: It happened organically. My parodies are my commentary on the absurd and ridiculous taken from the headlines. Trump came in and dominated that discussion.
G: This year’s Emmys are very LGBTQ-inclusive, with a long list of LGBTQ people and content nominated in various categories. Why do you think it’s so important to see this growing representation for the LGBTQ community in entertainment?
RR: I think that our contribution to this form of art is undeniable and it’s nice to see the gay community being more accepted and acknowledged. But look at history, at the tremendous contribution we have made to the Arts in general! We are a pretty fabulous lot – that can’t be ignored!
G: You’ve been posting YouTube videos for over a decade now. In that amount of time, you’ve acquired over 300,000 subscribers on your channel. How does it feel to have this level of impact online and how do you feel you’ve evolved as a comedian since you started on YouTube?
RR: It’s funny, there are many that have far more followers than I do. What I hope makes my videos different is how they resonate with what is happening in America that day and are rapidly shared. I turn a video around pretty quickly – usually 48 hours.
G: Over the past year, what is one of your favorite videos that you’ve created and why?
RR: I would say my parody of The Cell Block Tango because I received so much incredible praise on the complexity of it. Truth is, I made it in my apartment in Astoria, Queens just like all the others. I’m a self-taught, one man show so to be complimented by fancy industry experts on the production value is extraordinarily gratifying.
G: What would an Emmy win mean to you?
RR: Not only would it be a tremendous recognition of my work but a confirmation that all the time I have put into this crazy career paid off. I’m taking my mother to the Emmys, who always believed in me and supported me. It means so much to me personally that I get to experience all of this with her. She’s so proud and fully expects me to win. Gwen Rainbow is not coming to play!
Survey Reveals Single ‘Friends’ Fans Side with Ross in the ‘Break’ Debate
“WE WERE ON A BREAK” – we can’t forget Ross’ famous line in season three, episode fifteen of Friends. Ross tries to justify sleeping with another woman because him and Rachel were on a “break.” Rachel, however, is under the impression Ross definitely cheated. So what really happened – was Ross in the wrong here? […]
It has been one year since the Pennsylvania grand jury report named 300 sexually abusive Roman Catholic priests in the state. After an 18-month investigation, the grand jury concluded that “over one thousand child victims were identifiable, from the church’s own records.”
At the same time, the jury also noted that the real numbers could be much higher. It said,
“We believe that the real number – of children whose records were lost or who were afraid ever to come forward – is in the thousands.”
As a scholar who has spent the last eight years interviewing Catholic survivors of clergy sex abuse, I know that even though there were only a few convictions in Pennsylvania, the release of the grand jury report was a watershed moment for survivors.
The report opened up space for new conversations and helped communities come to terms with the horror of their past.
Grand juries and statutes of limitations
Grand juries comprise up to 23 citizens. They investigate potential crimes under the leadership and jurisdiction of a prosecutor.
Each state governs the amount of time that victims have to prosecute a given crime, which is called the statute of limitations. Although the Pennsylvania grand jury report spurred other states to extend their statute of limitations, Pennsylvania has not.
The majority of clergy abuse victims identified by last year’s grand jury may not ever get their day in court, since Pennsylvania’s statutes require victims to come forward by age 30 for civil lawsuits and by age 50 for criminal prosecution. This time frame is inadequate because survivors typically report childhood abuse when they are much older. The Catholic Church and the insurance industry have lobbied intensely to prevent governments from abolishing the statutes for crimes against children.
There have been prosecutions as well. In Pennsylvania, two Catholic priests, John Sweeney and David Poulson, were convicted. Michigan arrested five priests shortly after opening its own grand jury investigation. And Los Angeles convened a second grand jury, 10 years after its first investigation concluded.
The most high-profile case was that of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was exposed by the grand jury report for his handling of abuse cases in Pittsburgh. Wuerl resigned, but he will not face criminal charges.
Such changes might signal future progress, but they are insufficient within the broader scope of the crisis. Relative to the much higher numbers of accused priests and known victims, the number of new convictions has been tragically low.
But that does not mean that the grand jury report was a failure. The impact of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, I argue, goes beyond criminal justice.
One of the Pennsylvania survivors I spoke with, “Phil” (not his real name), lives in a small Rust Belt town in western Pennsylvania. Phil was abused from ages 14-17 by a priest at his high school. He reported his abuse to the Diocese of Erie at age 17, and came out publicly in 1993 at age 20.
After Phil came forward, he told me, a woman walked up to him in the grocery store and slapped him across the face. “How dare you accuse the diocese,” she said to him.
Throughout his hometown, Phil was stigmatized. He told me,
“I got called a liar. Treated like scum. Nobody wanted nothing to do with me.”
After last year’s report, Phil said that the same woman approached him in a Walmart parking lot.
“I slapped you 30 years ago, and I’m just so sorry,” she said. “Now I know you were telling the truth. Thank you for your courage.”
For survivors, the Pennsylvania report bore public witness to victims’ pain. The grand jurors recognized as truthful stories of suffering that – only a few years ago – many communities had willfully ignored.
Getting over the shame
Another survivor I spoke with, “Nadia,” was abused as a 12-year-old by a teacher at a Catholic school in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
After reporting her abuse to police, Nadia was stigmatized by her neighbors. She recently moved to Ireland, hoping to escape the shame and isolation that she felt as a survivor in the United States.
When the grand jury report was released, old friends started messaging her on Facebook. One confided that he was also abused at their Catholic school. When I spoke to her in March 2019, Nadia said,
“I was devastated to learn that some of my classmates were abused by another teacher”
Unlike Phil, Nadia had for years taken refuge in her assumption that she was the only child assaulted at her school.
Feeling depressed by the news, she telephoned her family for emotional support.
Nadia learned an even more heartbreaking revelation: One of her brothers was also abused by their teacher.
At age 58, separated by an ocean and with decades of distance from their abuse, a brother was finally able to tell his sister that she was not alone.
What inquiries can change
When the grand jury report was released last year, many news outlets cast Pennsylvania as a tipping point for increased transparency.
A grand jury is, fundamentally, a group of everyday Americans who bear witness to a community’s painful past. Especially when the court system cannot give justice to victims, grand juries can help citizens and survivors communicate fundamental truths about the global problem of child sexual abuse.
Congratulations to Timothy and Shawna from Canada!
You know it’s love when your feelings don’t leave even if the person does. Timothy and Shawna are inseparable in love. He writes: “Shawna and I messaged each other on Zoosk. We were both out of town so we agreed to call and message each other directly. Our first date was in May 2018 and we haven’t been
INTERVIEW: LGBTQ director Dano Cerny talks VMA nomination, working with LSD, dream collaborators, and the importance of LGBTQ representation in music
Credit: Jen Kleiner
The upcoming 2019 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), which take place on August 26th, are one of the most LGBTQ-inclusive yet, with artists such as Lil Nas X, Halsey, Lady Gaga, and Panic! At the Disco scoring nominations in major categories.
However, LGBTQ representation amongst this year’s nominees is not just limited to those on screen. Openly LGBTQ director Dano Cerny is up for his first VMA for Best Direction for LSD’s video “No New Friends,” which also scored nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Choreography. Cerny also directed the video for Bebe Rexha and The Chainsmokers’ song “Call You Mine,” which is nominated for Best Dance Video.
Dano Cerny is no stranger to directing videos for some of the biggest names in music. His resume includes directing credits for “Closer” by The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey, “Hollow” by Tori Kelly, “Dream” by Bishop Briggs, “Good Girls” by Elle King, and “Never” by The Roots ft. Patty Crash. Cerny also worked with singer-songwriter Wrabel on his video for “The Village,” which was dedicated to the transgender community. For the video, Cerny specifically casted a primarily LGBTQ crew to pay respect to the sensitivity of the subject and to give opportunity to underrepresented talent.
Just ahead of the VMAs, GLAAD had the chance to speak with Dano Cerny about his work throughout the past year, his VMA nomination, the importance of LGBTQ representation in music, and his dream collaborations. Check out the full interview below.
GLAAD: Your video for LSD’s “No New Friends” is nominated this year for Best Direction. What was it like working on the art direction for this video and how did the vision all come together?
Dano: It’s exciting to get nominated, especially in the directing category. This video meant a lot to me and I really wanted it to be good. I’ve always been a fan of Sia, Diplo and Labrinth, so getting the chance to work with all 3 was very special. I love fantasy and psychedelia, which was a big inspiration for the concept of this video. My goal was to create a unique world that felt like a place LSD might exist. There was that fantasy element, but I wanted to keep it grounded. We adopted a lot of old school film making techniques such as mixing miniature sets with larger set pieces (created by art director John Richoux) and using a green screen/blue screen. The performers were always interacting with real textures that we expanded with [the] help of visual effects master, Ethan Chancer.
G: As someone who is part of the LGBTQ community, do you think this influences any of the artistic decisions you make?
D: I’m always pushing for representation and inclusiveness in all my work, whether it’s a LGBTQ artist or not. Most of my pitches include LGBTQ characters or narratives. Those aren’t always the videos that get made but something I’m aware of. I’m always wanting to work with artists who are open in general and have chosen a lot of work based on that. Like Wrabel, Parson James, Bishop Briggs, Pentatonix, etc. On the flip side, I’m turned off by artists who still use homophobic slurs in lyrics or are generally not good people. I always pass on those projects.
G: You’ve had the opportunity to work on LGBTQ-inclusive videos in the past, including the video for Wrabel’s “The Village.” What does it mean to you to work on projects that help to bring attention to LGBTQ issues and artistry?
D: It’s so important to be in a position where I can help the cause in any way. Whether that’s one kid who watches a video or 20 million. The Wrabel video in particular was something I felt blessed to write and direct. The song was so inspiring. I was moved to tears the first time I heard it. Working with trans actor August Aiden on that video was life-changing. I learned so much. We were all on set the day Trump passed his grotesque transgender military ban. I remember the three of us sitting in the kitchen on location sharing our pain and anger. There was this sense like we could something with the video that could send a message of love and acceptance instead of hate. We had several trans actors playing students and a mainly LGBTQ crew. I really pushed for this set. I wanted everyone involved to feel like they were part of this message. People don’t realize the Parson James video I directed, “Only You,” also stars a trans actress as the lead. I love that people don’t know, it’s just not a talking point because we didn’t make it one. It doesn’t always have to be portrayed as a struggle or an identity piece – it’s just as important to see LGBTQ characters in everyday situations and relationships. Bridging the perceived gap.
G: You’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible artists in the past few years, including Bebe Rexha, Halsey, the Chainsmokers, LSD and Tori Kelly. Do you have any dream collaborators that you’d like to work with in the future?
D: I want to work with artists who are doing cool projects and are not afraid to take risks visually. I’m inspired by the music first off, no matter the genre. I really admire artists like FKA twigs, Björk, Madonna, Kendrick Lamar and Pink – just a few artists who are pushing the boundaries and treating music videos as an art form.
G: This year’s VMA nominations are very LGBTQ-inclusive, with artists like Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X and Halsey nominated in major categories. Why do you think that it is important for this type of increased visibility and representation in music right now?
D: It’s crucial that we see ourselves in the mainstream. Lil Nas X is especially such a different artist. I’m excited to see more people realize they can be “out” and successful. I think it’s harder for male artists to be seen as fluid, which is a shame. Luckily, there are so many great voices in LGBTQ music right now. It’s a great moment that I know continues to grow with my favorites like Wrabel, Parson James, Justin Tranter, Shea Diamond, Maty Noyes, Troye Sivan, etc. I hope we’ll see them all at the VMAs one day.
G: What was your favorite video from this past year and why?
D: I’d have to say “No New Friends” will forever hold a special place in my heart because I poured so much of myself into it. We had little time, little resources and it was a labor of love by everyone involved. It was such a positive collaboration working with Diplo, Labrinth, Sia and Maddie Ziegler (who stars in the video). I’ve also always been a fan of choreographer Ryan Heffington and it was our first time working together, which added another layer of awesomeness. Working on “Call You Mine” with The Chainsmokers and Bebe Rexha is a close second because we had a lot of fun with that twisted, sexy concept.
REPORTER: Mr POTUS, your administration has been taking steps to make it easier to discriminate against LGBT people in the workforce. Are you okay with that?
TRUMP: Well, the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed me… I’ve done very well w/ that community. Peter Thiel & so many others pic.twitter.com/W0OMKMzEkT
STUDY. Transgender conversion therapy is widespread: “Researchers at the Fenway Institute, citing data from the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Williams Institute of UCLA, concluded that the dangerous practice of trying to change a person’s gender identity has been attempted on an estimated 187,923 trans individuals. Conversion therapy focused on attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation is also prevalent, but was not considered for this study.”
AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION. Organization under scrutiny for use of federal money: “A California state senator has formally asked state Attorney General Xavier Becerra to investigate whether the powerhouse AIDS Healthcare Foundation is fraudulently misusing savings from a federal drug-discount program designed to help poor patients.”
STUDY. People who use emojis have more sex. “The study found that increased emoji use correlated positively along most steps in a relationship journey. It was uncorrelated to frequency of first dates, but correlated with increased amounts of second dates. Frequent emoji users were more likely to have kissed on dates, as well as had sex or entered into relationships with their date. “
LUCKY TO BE ALIVE VIDEO OF THE DAY. Plane crash survivors film moments after crash, and rescue helicopter approaching: “The Beech Bonanza went down in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, around 6 p.m. A man and woman were rescued from the water by a Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter, and both refused medical treatment, according to the Coast Guard. There were no injuries.”
SNEAK PEEK OF THE DAY. Downton Abbey, the movie.
THROWBACK PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY. Lady Gaga at the 2009 VMAs, uploaded this week for the first time.
Karamo Brown from “Queer Eye” thinks Trump’s lying former press secretary is “nice” & “very sweet”
Karamo Brown (image via Brown’s Instagram)
Sean Spicer, the lackey who used to regularly spread Trump’s lies to the American public while serving as his White House Press Secretary, is going to be on the upcoming season of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. In a recent interview with Access Hollywood, his co-“star” Karamo Brown said he considered the liar “a good guy, a really sweet guy.”
When asked who he thought his biggest competition is, Brown answered:
“Actually, no lemme tell you something. Um, Sean Spicer and I have been talking. Yeah, like, literally, I was most excited to meet him because, like the thing is that people would look at us and think that we’re polar opposites but I’m a big believer that if you can talk to someone and meet in the middle that you can learn about each other and help each other both grow. So we have been chatting all day today. Like, he’s a good guy, a really sweet guy. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Karamo from Queer Eye saying Sean Spicer is a nice guy. I know. I know.”
Spicer lied to the press about the circumstances surrounding the firing of then-national security adviser Michael Flynn and the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. On the very network that airs “Dancing with the Stars,” Spicer defended Trump’s baseless and frankly racist lie that three to five million people voted illegally in the November election.
Trump uses Spicer’s lies to help obstruct an investigation into Russia’s role into helping get him elected and to start a Voter Fraud Commission that meant to suppress voting amongst Democrats and people of color. He also lied about a bunch of other hateful stuff too.
“First, I have no say who is on the cast and didn’t find out till this morning that he is on! But I’ll tell you this… I’m excited to sit down w/ him and engage in a respectful conversations. Only way things get better is if we try to educate those who have different POV than us.”
In another tweet, Brown also expressed how he “can’t stand people” who post things “just to flame the fire and get a reaction. We fight harder than your ass ever has for people of color and members of the LGBTQIA community” after someone else called him out.
Here’s video of Brown talking about how “nice” Spicer is:
As The Cut points out, Dancing With the Stars has featured right-wing political figures before including grifty Tom DeLay, white supremacist Tucker Carlson, Alaska Moose-mom Bristol Palin and Rick Perry before he became our Secretary of Energy. We assume it’s just a bid by ABC to get conservative viewers. Blecccch.
Janet Mock on being a constant trailblazer and directing the ‘Pose’ Season Finale
Janet Mock might just be the closest thing someone can be to a bulldozer while still being human.
The much-lauded transgender rights activist, journalist, podcaster, cable pundit and newscaster became the first ever transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode for television with the first season of Pose, a show she executive produced despite no prior work behind the camera. Now she’s added another plume to her hat. Last month, Mock became the first transgender producer ever nominated for the Best Dramatic series Emmy. She also just inked a lucrative deal with Netflix to create, produce, write and direct a new series and feature films.
Mock brings her latest directorial outing to the world August 20, when she helms the Season 2 finale of Pose on FX. We managed to snag a few minutes from Mock’s very busy schedule to chat about the show, her rich life and her groundbreaking work.
So congratulations on your Emmy nomination. You’ve had such a varied career, how do you feel going into the finale?
I’m so proud of this finale. As someone who supervised production this season from day one of Season 2 all the way to the final day, and directed and written episodes this season, I’m so proud of the work we’ve all done. Our finale is our more ambitious script, and it involves two acts in the ballroom which are such hard scenes to shoot. There are 300 people in a singular space. It’s crowded. It’s noisy. There’s a lot of dancing. And so the fact that it turned out and it turned out well…Ryan [Murphy, who executive produces along with Mock and Our Lady J] says he thinks its the strongest episode we’ve done.
Oh wow.
To be trusted with a finale for any director is astounding. For me, it’s astounding and it’s humbling and it’s great and it’s astonishing. At the same time, it’s also meaningful and impactful because it’s a story about my community.
Absolutely.
So it makes it that much more meaningful. So I’m so excited that I’ve done a finale. This whole process of working on Pose has changed my life and emboldened me as a storyteller and an artist, and I get to keep on telling stories with my deal with Netflix and next season. So that’s exciting.
Finales are always tricky because they need to bring everything together. I was impressed by the sheer number of story threads and character arcs you had to cap off. Are you intimidated when you go in to do something like that? How do you keep an even keel?
For me it’s always about the characters. When it comes to any script, specifically as a director, what’s hard about the finale, as you point out, is that there are so many storylines that you are trying, not to wrap up, but to tell and to keep those threads all going. For me, it was about Blanca. She’s our heroine. MJ Rodriguez, the lead, gave the performance of a lifetime in the episode. I hope she’s recognized in ways as an actress. She’s grown so much as our leading lady. Realize that no one came before her to do this work.
Via Youtube
Great observation.
Every episode she’s challenged. The first scene we shot for the finale was her and Billy Porter in the House of Evangelista. We were tearing down the set the day after.
Oh wow.
The two of them together, seeing each other for the first time [in a long time], I think the audience will feel that in the cold open. And I think everything else hangs onto there. You love Blanca, and you’re here for the journey, you know?
Yeah.
So for me it was just about the characters. The Angel storyline with her modeling and how that ties in with her romance with Lil Papi. They have a home, and it was challenging to tell that story just to make it realistic just because we’ve never seen a storyline like that between a transwoman and a cisgender young man. He’s so unapologetic about loving her. The stakes were so high for the characters. I think it raised the stakes for me as a director to make it seem grounded and real and to anchor it in the human experience of supporting and loving one another, which is what this whole episode is. That’s what we need right now in our particular culture: to feel that.
Absolutely. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but you hadn’t directed prior to Pose.
No, I hadn’t. I never had ambitions to direct. I never thought that I would up until Season 1 of Pose. I directed episode six, “Love is a Message.”
I’m curious then. You’re someone who has had such a varied career, and you’re not very old. What have you learned about yourself in challenging yourself in this way, creatively?
For me the anchor for everything I’ve done in my career is being a writer and a storyteller. I think for me, a lot of it—you know I’m trained as a journalist. That’s where I learned the craft of storytelling. Then I became a memoirist. And I’ve written a lot of profiles and interviews of celebrities. I did that for MSNBC. I’ve hosted my own podcast. Now, as a writer/director, it’s easier for me to write and direct an episode because I have such a hand in telling the story. I can change words if things don’t fit right. It was just natural for me. I think Ryan saw something in me long before I saw myself as a director. It’s been great to be surrounded by a mentor who believes in me and also offers me resources and guidance.
Sure.
It’s not like I do this work alone. But I think the training wheels came off when it came to the finale. It is my fourth hour of television directing. I also just did Episode 3 of The Politician. The trailer just dropped today, and I noticed a lot of my shots and scenes are in the trailer.
That’s wonderful.
It’s great. And I also have a development deal with Netflix. But for me, what Pose has given me is the ability to learn more about myself as an artist, and as a storyteller, to stretch my wings. To challenge myself and not be afraid of doing things I haven’t’ done before. I’ve surprised myself and I’ve been emboldened. I have a whole new career now because of the show.
Via YouTube
I’m excited to ask then, what can you tell us about your Netflix deal?
Nothing!
[Laughter]
I had a feeling.
You know, we’re developing right now. So they’re not ready to announce anything yet. But I promise we will circle back.
Please do.
I’m also hopping right into the writer’s room of Ryan’s new series Hollywood, and I’m directing a couple episodes of that as well as several episodes of The Politician.
Your Wikipedia bio describes you as an activist. That’s a vast oversimplificaiton for your carer, but it’s not wrong. You’ve done everything. You’re changing the world. When you go through your day, when you survey life and your work, where do you find the most gratitude? Where do you find the greatest peace of I’ve done something with my life?
Wow. I think for me, the fact that I can live my truth. I’ve been able to live my truth since I was 12 years old. That’s the most gratifying for me. I don’t have to live a lie. I’m anchored in my truth, and by telling my truth as a writer, as a memoirist, as a director, that I am able to offer kids growing up like I did affirmative images of themselves, affirmative stories, things that can make them puff out their chest a bit more. I am all too aware of how it feels to be a young person—or just a person period—aching to be yourself and be met with a shake of a head instead of a nod, to not be affirmed for who you are.
Indeed.
One of the most aspirational things, to bring it back to Pose and the stories we tell there. In the ballroom stage, or even when we’re not there, when that person steps into the spotlight and they live their dreams for those three minutes, they are applauded for that dream. That’s what people return to over and over again with the show. I hope that long after we’re gone, the show will exist. And people will go back and look and be affirmed, be seen, be celebrated. So for me, I just feel great gratitude that I get to do this work, and that I’m empowered to tell more stories. To be the first trans person empowered with this kind of a deal—to greenlight your own projects and have great creative partners behind you…I’m grateful that I get to do this work.
