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Mother Arrested for Defending Son Against Antigay Bullying
Other students allegedly called the child gay and pushed him off playground equipment and currently face no punishment.
www.advocate.com/youth/2019/6/13/mother-arrested-defending-son-against-antigay-bullying
Ranking of ‘most powerful drag queens in America’ gets dragged by the queens on the list
Any ranking is bound to touch a nerve, but Vulture’s new ranking of “The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America,” which also appeared in New York Magazine, seems especially shady. Online, backlash to the ranking has been swift and fierce, with RuPaul’s Drag Race queens — including many on the list — reading the editors for filth.
Related: Don’t be surprised if these 10 queens make it to ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ season 5
For starters, many of the drag queen bios contained inaccuracies, with Vulture later adding a footnote attributing the “incorrect” bio blurbs to a “production issue.”
Alaska on Season 6? Fame on Season 2? Aja on All Stars 4? Laqueer on Season 10?
Did anyone fact check this? pic.twitter.com/PZF4OCJBsB
— ?van Ross Katz (@evanrosskatz) June 10, 2019
Even more egregious, perhaps, is that the ranking categorizes any queens who didn’t make the “Top 20” into four progressively shady “power peer groups”: The Tops, The Upper Tier, The Mid-Tier, and The Bottoms. That irritated All Stars 2 queen Phi Phi O’Hara — who, incidentally, also saw that her bio was incorrect.
I havent lived in Chicago for 8 years……I’m not even from there.
I literally rebuilt roofs in Puerto Rico but am just left as villain. @vulture not only doesnt do their research, but have the nerve to RANK queens!? You fucking rank them and then called some THE BOTTOMS? Rude! pic.twitter.com/7dC6cYOrfJ
— Jaremi Carey (@PhiPhiOhara) June 10, 2019
Meanwhile, Season 7 winner Violet Chachki — #16 on the list — took issue with the aesthetic choices.
these publications that think photographing drag queens in poor lighting with no retouching is somehow interesting or avant- grade is literally homophobia.
— Violet Chachki (@VioletChachki) June 10, 2019
Shangela took the middle ground. “I don’t really get into rankings,” she wrote on Instagram. “I think that just by being a Drag Queen we’re all pretty powerful. But THANK YOU @vulture for this cool write up in ur “Most Powerful Drag Queens in America.” I told y’all … i Came to WERQ.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Shangela (DJ) (@itsshangela) on
To hear Season 4 contestant Willam tell it, the queens who were photographed for the feature didn’t realize they would be ranked, meaning the so-called “Bottoms” probably had no idea they’d be labeled as such — with, you know, their sexual roles notwithstanding.
No one told us they were gonna be ranking us but hey press is press. @vulture
— Willam (@willam) June 10, 2019
Related: PHOTOS: Catch all the sickening looks from RuPaul’s DragCon 2019
And though Vulture’s preamble makes it clear the judges were ranking only Drag Race contestants, the headline called these 100 honorees the “Most Powerful Drag Queens in America,” which made for some glaring omissions, as All Stars 4 co-winner Monét X Change pointed out.
Also I’m just seeing this goddamn list! Fuck @vulture and their rankings. If you’re gunna rank “the most powerful Drag Queens in America”…where are the Sherry Vine’s, the Jackie Beat’s, the Coco Peru’s, Bunny, Peaches!? Our successes are birthed on the backs of their pains.
— Monét X Change (@monetxchange) June 10, 2019
Season 8 fan fave Kim Chi, meanwhile, thinks turnabout should be fair play.
Hey everyone! As someone who has never written a news article or even have any experience in journalism, I decided to rank all the writers over at @vulture. The ranks will be arbitrary and it too shall be poorly written. All I ask is someone to take awful photos these writers?
— Kim Chi (@KimChi_Chic) June 11, 2019
And with that, the library is closed.
Did You Know? Singles Are Turning to Dating Apps to Find Their Wedding Plus Ones!
June, July and August – not only some of the most fun months of the year, but also that time of year when everyone and their mother has decided to have their wedding. Wedding season has officially begun, and Plenty of Fish is taking a deep dive into what singles really have to say about […]
The post Did You Know? Singles Are Turning to Dating Apps to Find Their Wedding Plus Ones! appeared first on PlentyOfFish Blog.
Did You Know? Singles Are Turning to Dating Apps to Find Their Wedding Plus Ones!
Tony Directs, Julie Bowen, Joe Biden, Whale Captivity, Kylie Jenner, Justin Amash, Martha Plimpton, Max Adonis: HOT LINKS
EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO AMERICA. Biden to take on Trump in forceful speech: “Biden’s remarks, released early by the campaign, mark some of Biden’s most pointed attacks of the president — mentioning his name 44 times, and hitting Trump for his tariff policy and the impact it has on Iowa farmers and manufacturers.”
TRUMP ON BEING IMPEACHED. I don’t leave.
Donald Trump, whose actions during the Russia probe have prompted comparisons to the Watergate scandal, drew a distinction between himself and Richard Nixon: “He left. I don’t leave. A big difference”t.co/xSRHObJ8J2 pic.twitter.com/X5JhZ8fxCM
— POLITICO (@politico) June 10, 2019
TONE DEAF. Kylie Jenner holds Handmaid’s Tale-themed birthday party. “so…..who’s gonna tell her that her party is literally celebrating female enslavement for their biological reproduction??”
DEFIANCE. Some embassies still hoisting rainbow flags despite Trump administration advisory.
CANADA. Whale and dolphin captivity BANNED. Will ban single-use plastics in 2021.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Victor Pinheiro (@victorpiiinheiro) on
MALE MODELS GALORE. Victor Pinheiro, Juan Betancourt, Austin Scoggin, Jake Hobbs, Bobby Penney and more.
FINALLY. Justice Department agrees to turn over key Mueller probe evidence: ‘The precise scope, volume or usefulness of the material was not immediately clear, but the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, said it would include “interview notes, firsthand accounts of misconduct and other critical evidence” collected by Mr. Mueller from the White House and former officials.
QUEER EYE’S FAB 5. The people who changed their lives.
JUSTIN AMASH. GOP Congressman leaves conservative Freedom Caucus: ‘Amash’s series of tweets in mid-May shook Capitol Hill, as the conservative Michigan lawmaker said special counsel Robert Mueller’s report established “multiple examples” of Trump committing obstruction of justice. Amash was later insulted by Trump for his opinions — the President said he’s “been a loser for a long time” — and faced blowback from top Republican officials. He’s also now facing a primary challenger who is touting his support of Trump.’
MOURNFUL. Martha Plimpton says she feels alienated by her country.
DONE. Pride Foundation of Maryland quits YouTube: “Our decision is a direct response to YouTube’s decision regarding Steven Crowder’s targeted harassment and homophobic abuse of Carlos Maza, the openly gay journalist at Vox and producer of its Strikethrough web series. We’ve watched the various video segments on Crowder’s channel in which he offers rebuttals to content created by Vox. Not all of the videos Crowder attempts to rebut feature Maza, but those which do are characterized by repeated antigay slurs, sexual innuendo, and mocking references to Maza’s speech, mannerisms, and identity as a gay man. It didn’t take us an algorithm to find the blatant homophobia in Crowder’s videos. We knew it when we saw it.”
ALABAMA. Mother wants answers from school in gay son’s suicide: ‘Nigel Shelby, 14, killed himself in April, and his mother said adults at Huntsville High School knew what he was going through and responded at least once by telling him “being gay is a choice.” Whatever else they may have said and why they didn’t warn her is what nationally known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump vowed to find out today. Crump and attorney Jasmine Rand have been retained by the family to investigate Nigel’s death.’
UNDER A ROCK. Tig Notaro tries to guess who Julie Bowen is.
NAILED. With Tony Directs.
LGBT CULTURE OF THE DAY. i-D visits the Sage Center.
ICYMI. James Corden’s TONY awards opening.
TWO FOR TUESDAY. Max Adonis and friend at Sitges Pride.
The post Tony Directs, Julie Bowen, Joe Biden, Whale Captivity, Kylie Jenner, Justin Amash, Martha Plimpton, Max Adonis: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Dallas gay bartender speaks out after being fired for refusing service to trans patron
Last week, Queerty was first LGBTQ news outlet to report on an incident in which JR’s, one of the largest gay bars on Dallas’ gay strip, kicked out a trans female patron for seemingly no reason. Now, after being fired by the bar, the manager who refused to serve and later ejected the trans patron has explained his actions and what has occurred since.
In a public Facebook post, former JR’s manager and bartender Carter Young claimed that the trans patron, Blair Jirousek, had continually presented a fake ID during her visits to the bar over the last three or four years.
Young wrote, “On this latest occasion, I asked for her ID. I inspected it and it appeared fake to me. I asked her for any other ID and she told me that was her only one. I then told her that we would not be able to serve her because the ID seemed fake.”
Young says he didn’t refuse service to her friends, but asked security to eject Jirousek, believing her to be underage.
“At that point, Blair started screaming and hitting the security guard. The security guard then was protecting himself and pushing her outside the front door. Once outside the door, she continued to scream and fight the officer,” Young writes. He says that after Jirousek called the police, police issued her a criminal trespass citation.
Young added, “The police officer explained that the ID could not be confirmed as real or fake — and that Blair had several IDs from different states. Blair left the scene screaming at me and the security officer.”
The next day, after negative reviews flooded JR’s Facebook page, JRs sent a statement to Queerty stating that Young would be fired, the security agency would be contacted and the bar’s remaining employees would all undergo re-training to ensure that such an incident would never occur again.
Young says that the bar’s corporate owners had decided to fire him before he told his side of the story as “a false narrative had already spread like wildfire online.”
Related: Pride flags set on fire outside New York gay bar in possible hate crime
“I asked Corporate where the support is from the company where I have worked for more than 21 years,” he wrote. “There was no answer.”
Since then, Young writes, “As I sit here, I wonder how one seemingly normal shift at work snowballed into this hell…. People take to social media in bad faith and others trust what gets posted without hearing all sides. And these days, even news media parrot the ‘content’ instead of vetting it, spreading the false information even farther and increasing the damage.”
We have reached out to Daniel Heredia, the Dallas resident who posted video of Jirousek being kicked out of JR’s, about Young’s claims. We will update our story if he or Jirousek respond.
#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 10, 2019
HRC MOURNS THE LOSS OF CHANEL SCURLOCK, BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMAN FATALLY SHOT IN LUMBERTON, N.C.: Scurlock’s death is the ninth known case of deadly violence against the transgender community in 2019, all of whom were Black transgender women. More from HRC, NewNowNext and Vice.
1/ As millions of LGBTQ people and our allies across the country prepare to celebrate #Pride, there is a sobering reality that we all must recognize:
Black trans women are not safe in America. t.co/dsbtI8y065
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 7, 2019
MUST WATCH MONDAY — IT’S #PrideMonth, SO LET’S BREAK DOWN THE WAYS TRUMP-PENCE CONTINUE TO ATTACK THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY:
.@HRC‘s @SarahEMcBride joined @DavidGura on @UPonMSNBC to discuss the Trump-Pence administration’s attacks on the LGBTQ community and the hypocritical and hollow attempt to celebrate #PrideMonth. pic.twitter.com/fJU2MrLQt8
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 9, 2019
FROM THE NYTIMES — PRIDE FLAGS AND FOREIGN POLICY US DIPLOMATS SEE SHIFT ON LGBTQ RIGHTS: The Times’ Ernesto Londoño (@londonoe) reports from Brazil, where Trump-Pence banned flying the Pride flag outside the U.S. embassy, and there’s “an increasingly hostile environment for gay Brazilians” since Jair Bolsonaro was elected president. HRC Global Director Ty Cobb tells Londoño: “Trump and Pence have made it clear they are not allies to the L.G.B.T.Q. community — neither here at home or abroad.” Read more at The New York Times.
LGBTQ TRAILBLAZER REP. ANGIE CRAIG (D-MN) (@REPANGIECRAIG) CALLS ON SENATE TO PASS THE EQUALITY ACT: Watch here.
“It is so critical for the quality of life of LGBTQ Americans & the strength of all of our communities that we pass the #EqualityAct.”
During #PrideMonth @HRC thanks @RepAngieCraig for helping to pass this historic civil rights bill in the House. It’s time for the Senate to act. pic.twitter.com/Qhee3ketLQ
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 6, 2019
REP. KATIE HILL SPEAKS UP ABOUT FACING ANTI-LGBTQ DISCRIMINATION ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: “Having to explain what bisexuality is to people was pretty unbelievable,” said Hill (@RepKatieHill). More from The Hill and Refinery29.
HRC CONGRATULATES RON NIRENBERG ON REELECTION AS SAN ANTONIO MAYOR: “We have been proud to work with Nirenberg (@Ron_Nirenberg) since his first election in 2015 and look forward to another term of pro-equality leadership at San Antonio’s City Hall,” said HRC Texas State Director Rebecca Marques. More from HRC.
BOSTON UNIV. STUDY SHOWS LGBTQ CANCER SURVIVORS HAVE LESS ACCESS TO CARE AFTER TREATMENT: “Fear of discrimination causes many LGBTQ people to avoid seeking care and, when they do, studies have shown that LGBTQ people are often not treated with the respect or cultural competence that all patients deserve — and that negatively affects health outcomes,” said HRC Foundation’s Director of Health Equity Program Tari Hanneman (@Tari_Hanneman). More from the Boston Herald.
HRC MOURNS DANTE AUSTIN, PHILLY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DEPUTY SHERIFF AND LGBTQ LAISION: More from CNN.
U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS HOLD STONEWALL HISTORY PRESENTATION: The Commission also called for passage of the Equality Act.
Chair @CatherineLhamon, Vice Chair Patricia Timmons-Goodson, and Commissioners Debo Adegbile, @davekladney & @narasakijustice with historian David Carter, who presented to @USCCRgov on: Stonewall at 50: The Movement for #LGBT #CivilRights pic.twitter.com/kFZgXCWP1m
— USCCR (@USCCRgov) June 7, 2019
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP SOCCER KICKS OFF WITH RECORD VISIBILITY: When we see open and proud role models who share our experiences and identities on the court, track or elsewhere, we are reminded of our own potential and power. Read more at HRC.
HRC SHARES TIPS TO DEEPEN YOUR IMPACT AS AN ALLY FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY: More from HRC.
TONY AWARDS CELEBRATES LGBTQ COMMUNITY: Openly bisexual actress Ali Stroker took home Best Actress in a Musical for Oklahoma and Best Revival of Play went to the Boys in the Band. Gay actor Andre DeShields took home an award for Hadestown. See HRC’s live Twitter feed for more.
PRIDE MONTH ROUNDUP
“I WILL NEVER LIE ABOUT BEING GAY AGAIN” — LGBTQ ACTIVIST ALEXEI ROMANOFF, 82, SHARES POWERFUL STORY FOR PRIDE MONTH: More from NPR.
SIX HISTORIC LGBTQ SITES IN NYC BEING CONSIDERED FOR LANDMARK STATUS: More from the Wall Street Journal.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
BHUTAN GOVERNMENT STARTS PROCESS TO DECRIMINALIZE SAME-SEX RELATIONS: More from Gay Star News.
ISRAELI SAME-SEX COUPLES HOLD MASS WEDDING TO RALLY SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY: More from The Guardian.
ANTI-TRANS BILL TO BE REINTRODUCED IN INDIA PARLIAMENT: More from Gay Star News.
AIR ITALY BECOMES FIRST EUROPEAN AIRLINE TO OFFER NON-BINARY OPTION: United Airlines became the first U.S. airline to provide a non-binary gender option in March this year. More from Pink News.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
The New York Times writes about LGBTQ play ‘The Inheritance” coming to Broadway; HRC staff met with Casa Ruby (@CasaRubyDC) executive director Ruby Corado and LGBTQ Latinx asylum seekers.
Today @HRC staffers met with Ruby Corado, @CasaRubyDC executive director, and LGBTQ Latinx asylum seekers to discuss their experiences coming to the U.S. and the importance of having allies and support. pic.twitter.com/34jb5cSUEt
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 6, 2019
Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-june-10-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Weekend Movie Review: ‘Dark Phoenix’
Don’t they have any healing and creative rejuvenation among the super-powered mutations at Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Children? If so, they needed them to lay their hands on this franchise for a few years before making another bungled attempt at the beloved Dark Phoenix storyline (from the 1980 comic books). But that’s a rhetorical question. If Dark Phoenix (2019) is any indication, mutations cannot save this franchise.
When we return to our characters, much has changed since the last visit. Which is fine since who wants to be reminded of X-Men Apocalypse? The X-Men are now no longer shunned by society but held up as heroes. Professor Xavier (James McAvoy, phoning this one in… but then who isn’t?) has a direct phone to the White House, like a Batman / Commissioner Gordon sitch gone national.
Their first mission, which serves as kind of a second prologue to the over and underwritten film, involves saving a space shuttle crew from imminent death. For underwritten/performed reason this is making Raven (Jessica Lawrence) nervous. The mission goes wrong with Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) appearing to explode with the doomed ship. But what’s this — she feels great with not a scratch on her? Well, not so fast. Her power is now off the charts and mental inhibitors that Xavier had placed on her as a child without her knowledge (uh-oh) have distintegrated as well. Her powers going haywire is bad enough for the team, but things get worse when super-powered mysterious aliens arrive on Earth (led by Jessica Chastain, going Terminator-franchise minimalist though she’s not playing a robot). The aliens intend to use Jean Grey, now nicknamed Phoenix for her remarkable resurrection, for their own nefarious purposes.
Battle sequences, plot contrivances, contractually obligated and completely joyless performances follow…
To be fair, Dark Phoenix does deliver a few meager thrills. The film makes you wait for Magneto and it’s wonderful to see Michael Fassbender’s effortlessly intense charisma back onscreen (where’s he been since marrying Alicia Vikander? That’s a long honeymoon). He clearly doesn’t want to be there, but then, neither does his character so it works. Disco-era mutant Dazzler gets a cameo which is irrelevant to the plot but still works as fan service (we never thought we’d see her onscreen!). Nightcrawler’s (Kodi Smit McPhee) teleportation skills are put to visually strong use, primarily because they look so different than everyone else’s computer generated gifts. A climactic action sequence on a speeding train goes on twice as long as it should and is too chaotic to follow well but it has two action-bliss jolts within if you’re patient about waiting for them.
What doesn’t work? Everything else.
The franchise has never done right by Cyclops (Tye Sheridan now, James Marsden earlier) or Storm (Alexandra Shipp now, Halle Berry then) and that continues here, with no effort to course correct. [SPOILER] And for a story that should feel apocalyptically large on an existential level, there is only one major death, and that one plays like it’s appeasing someone who was chafing against their endless contract. [/SPOILER] Stranger still given the budgets on superhero movies, it’s visually “small,” as if the X-Men and the aliens are the only people who exist in the known universe. One action sequence takes place in the suburbs but nobody appears to be at home. Another takes place in a single block of a city but feels no bigger than an unruly block party. Someone called the cops.
It’s all terribly unsatisfying.
Sophie Turner does what she can with her undermotivated central part, but there’s no magic in the performance to save the movie from itself. The X-Men movies originally leaned hard into allegory “mutants = persecuted minorities. Hatred is bad!” but this one barely knows what to do with something that should be easily resonant and message-movie flexible like losing control of your body or giving yourself over to rage.
The other actors have much less to do, only repeating beats we’ve seen them do multiple times before. The franchise is in a time loop after all, returning to this story again with different actors playing the same roles, but not, through the usual reboot format. It’s little wonder that everyone is merely going through the motions between “action” and “cut”.
We repeat: Mutations cannot save the X-Men. No half-measure cast changes or director swaps will do. Dark Phoenix is not, perhaps, the worst movie in the franchise, just the dullest. But when more movies from a franchise are fighting for Worst Of honors than Best Of, it’s time to bury it.
Logan knew that, somehow, and went to the grave honorably. Dark Phoenix tries to follow suit, in its own funereal way, but without that earlier film’s conviction, genre-twisting, and fine performances. Dark Phoenix strays wildly from the famous 1980 comic book storyline but still honors its downer outcome. It’s a bummer… intentionally and otherwise.
The post Weekend Movie Review: ‘Dark Phoenix’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
“Straight Pride” memes are the gift that keeps on giving
You’ve likely heard by now that a far-right group called Super Happy Fun America is holding a “Straight Pride” parade in Boston later this summer.
According to its website, Super Happy Fun America wants to “celebrate the diverse history, culture, and contributions of the straight community.”
One of the group’s of three founding members is a man by the name of Chris Bartley, who identifies as gay.
Related: Meet the gay guy behind the effort to bring “Straight Pride” to Boston
On Wednesday, Bartley told Queerty he’s working to bring “Straight Pride” to Boston in an effort to “showcase how extreme the left has become.”
“My motivation to participate in this year’s Straight Pride is to make the far left realize how insane they have become and how overarching they are,” he said.
And now, the memes…
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Lakeland Laughs (@lakelandlaughs) on
View this post on InstagramBecause let’s be honest. That’s what you’ll be wearing. You know it. And I know it. And it’s tired. ?? #straightpride #summerstartsnow #intersectionalfeminism #myfeminism #itsmuellertime #hillaryforqueens #imstillwithher #imstillwithher #missmewiththebullshit #intersectionalfeminism #hillaryforqueens #imstillwithher #imstillwithher #imstillwithher #missmewiththebullshit #intersectionalfeminism #myfeminism #malefeminist #hillaryforqueens #blackgirlsrock #blackgirlmagic #america #midtermelections #thinkingoutloud #lgbt #nycgay #gaynyc #hillaryforqueens #hillaryrodhamclinton #imstillwithher #intersectionality #strongertogether #neverthelessshepersisted #feminist #nycgay #gaynyc #happypride #happypridemonth #blackboyjoy #liveOUTLOUD #gayandproud #blackexcellence #blm
A post shared by Kory Or @hillaryforqueens (@hillaryforqueens2.0) on
View this post on Instagram#straightpride #gaypride #StraightPrideVSGayPride #silly #ridiculous #whyarepeople
A post shared by Matt Merchant (@matt_merchant) on
View this post on InstagramBoogity boogity boogity – – – – – – – – – – #straightpride #pridemonth #pride2019 #prideparade #thegayagenda #gayagenda #lgbtmeme #lgbtmemes #lgbtqmeme #lgbtqmemes #gaymeme #gaymemes #nascarmemes #nascarmeme #racingmemes #sportsmemes #sportsmeme
A post shared by @ thecosplayerhunter on
View this post on InstagramAunt Ida VS Straight Pride Parade! ?#auntida #edithmassey #femaletrouble #johnwaters #straightpride #parade #pride #no #badtaste #baltimore #popeoftrash #princeofpuke #disrespectful #str8 #filthy #filthelder #edie #carsick #rolemodels #maketrouble #shockvalue #indecentexposure #mrknowitall #thisfilthyworld #pencilmustache #trashcinema #midnightmovie #undergroundfilm #queer #lgbtqiapride
A post shared by John Waters Divine Trash Page (@john_waters_divine_trash_page) on
View this post on InstagramPeople asking “When is #StraightPride?” acting like they don’t know @Walmart has 50% off khaki cargo shorts and American flag hats every damn day of the year. #gaysofinstagram #notgayasinhappybutqueerasinfuckyou #getyourowndamnparade #pride2019 ????
A post shared by Rick G (@hismadrealm) on
View this post on InstagramApparently, though, some #assholes are trying to throw a #straightpride parade in #boston this year.
A post shared by J (@handyjay6) on
View this post on Instagram#bostonstraightpride #straightpride #str8pride #heteropride #heterosexualprideday #heterosexualpride #heterosexualprideisajoke #nostraightpride #becauselogic
A post shared by #DiamondStarrlite (@diamondstarrlite) on
View this post on InstagramI didn’t see one ? . . . . . . . . . #straightprideparade #magat #wcw #wheredeyatdoe #incels #lgbt #prideparade #pridemonth #pride? #singleaf #cornballs
A post shared by Reese Waters (@reesewaters) on
View this post on InstagramOnce you’ve been persecuted for your sexuality you can do whatever the fuck you want, huns. Crazy straight bastards . . . . . #gay #gayuk #scottishgay #gayscotland #gayglasgow #gaydundee #gayedinburgh #gayaberdeen #scotsgay #queerscotland #queer #lgbtq #gayboy #gaymemes #poofjuice #grindr #pride #gaypride #queerpride #pridemonth #straightpride #boston #bostonpride
A post shared by p00fjuice ????? (@p00fjuice) on
Related: Twitter has a lot to say about this “Straight Pride” parade happening in Boston
Nyle DiMarco’s black briefs, Troye Sivan’s wet t-shirt, & Shawn Mendes’ burn
This week the gay man organizing “Straight Pride” demanded that “straight people be afforded equal rights,” George Michael‘s boyfriend learned he got nothing, and the hotly anticipated Tales of the City reboot drew one week closer. Here’s what happened on Instagram:
Victor Turpin walked the beach.
View this post on InstagramHealthy life…healthy mind. #motivationmonday #health #fitness #energy #recharge
A post shared by VICTOR TURPIN | Actor (@victorturpin) on
Antonin the 2nd found his shadow.
View this post on InstagramThis is the only Chinese shadow I ve managed
A post shared by antonin_the2nd (@antonin_the2nd) on
Derrick Gordon showed off.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Derrick Gordon (@thederrickgordon) on
Ross Lynch and Gavin Leatherwood wore shades.
Jack Laugher set out to get a tan.
View this post on InstagramWhitest boy ever vs the sun.. I AM GOING TO BURN! ?
A post shared by Jack Laugher (@jacklaugher) on
Keiynan Lonsdale sported a rainbow.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by ?????? Keiynan Lonsdale ????? (@keiynanlonsdale) on
Nyle DiMarco sat on a bench.
View this post on Instagramentire summer mood ?: @laurenbenedictmowl
A post shared by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco) on
Shawn Mendes broke a sweat.
View this post on InstagramIt isn’t genetics…@shawnmendes WORKS FOR IT ?? • • #LiftCorktown ??????????????? #NikeTraining ??????
A post shared by Josh Adamson (@aussie_fit) on
Gus Kenworthy made it halfway to LA.
View this post on InstagramPlease pray for our taints. ??
A post shared by Matthew Wilkas (@mwilkas) on
Pietro Boselli explored a boulder.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Pietro Boselli (@pietroboselli) on
Ronnie Woo celebrated Pride.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ronnie Woo (@ronniecwoo) on
PJ and Thomas McKay got matching undies.
View this post on InstagramHappy Saturday, y’all! We’ve partnered with @meundies for #PrideMonth to share when we feel the most PROUD to be us. For PJ, it’s when he’s working hard on a goal that he’s set for himself, and when he achieves that goal. He’s in his element the most when he’s hard at work. For Thomas, it’s when he’s surrounded by his family and fur babies at home, either in deep, meaningful conversation or just watching a movie on the couch. It’s when we feel the most authentically ourselves that we truly shine, because no matter what anyone says, there’s only one YOU and that’s what makes you so special. Let’s take some time today to celebrate ourselves and everything that makes us great, shall we? ? #ad #meundiespartner #hhxmeundies
A post shared by THE PROPERTY LOVERS (@pjandthomas) on
Anthony Bowens went to Fire Island.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Anthony Bowens (@bowens_official) on
Terry Miller got some sun.
View this post on Instagram???????? ????? ???. •• @jack_adamsusa swimsuit.
A post shared by Terry Miller (@terrysphots) on
Sam Asghari stood on the terrace.
Titanius Maximus stained his briefs.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Titanius Maximus (@titaniusmaximus) on
Troye Sivan got wet.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by troye sivan (@troyesivan) on
Max Emerson and Andres Camilo took a bath.
View this post on InstagramShout out to nurse @andrescamilo___ #tubbuddies #bathbomb
A post shared by Max Emerson (@maxisms) on
Anderson Cooper spoke to Entertainment Weekly.
Daniel Matsunaga dried himself.
Tyson Beckford returned to New York City.
Wilson Cruz wore orange.
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Matthew Camp took a call.
Jorik Hendrickx had cake.
Aydian Dowling shared some advice.
View this post on Instagram?? Summer is approaching and bodies are being ‘evaluated’ now more than any other time of year- ?? • Sometimes when we see our bodies and they don’t ‘look’ how society has conditioned us to think they should look- We get angry and say nasty mean things to ourselves internalizing those feelings and they turn into self hate, feelings of failure, feelings of not being good enough. • I’ve suffered for so many years and still suffer- • Over time I’ve learned to REPLACE that negative voice in my head and every time it has something nasty to say- I instead REMEMBER that my body is a POWERHOUSE! I think about all that my body has done for me. It has brought me to so many places, met so many people, and accomplished so many dreams and goals! • Drop a ?? to STOP ? the culture of ‘GOOD’ vs ‘BAD’ bodies • • • • #bodyimage #selfimage #bodypositive #loveyourbody #loveyourself #selflove #opinionofsheep #body #transbodies #bodies #fitness #fitnessculture #good #bad #aydiandowling #radicaloptimism #staypositive #staytrue #motivation #inspiration #positivity #powerhouse #ftmfitness #transdad #dadbod
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Nick Cannon channeled a Ken doll.
Carson Jones did some pull-ups.
View this post on InstagramWhat are goals if they aren’t mean’t to be crushed? Honestly though, it’s all about routine. Check out the link in my bio to learn more. . Today’s the start of my brand new venture! www.lifebycarsonjones.com is my new digital advocacy platform. Focusing on three core issues (equality, environment, and health), I’m going to be working even harder on issues that impact us all. Check it out now and thanks so much for your support! This is only just the beginning. . #pullup #fitness #health #outdoors #concentrationface #whatareyourgoals #instagay #fitgay #thedapperzookeeper #lifebycarsonjones #advocacy #issues #life #newproject #excitingstuff
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Nick Adams took a shower.
View this post on InstagramLos Angeles. 5-2-19 @sundaymorningsaints
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And Jwan Yosef put his hand in his pants.
‘Tales of the City’s’ Alan Poul on the new freedom to depict “sex in a casual way”
The seven-time Emmy nominee Alan Poul is a fearless producer.
Having worked on low budget films like Candyman through the 1980s and early 90s, Poul took on a job that would earn him distinction in the annals of television: producer of the landmark, if controversial, miniseries Tales of the City in 1993. Since then, Poul has produced other acclaimed, groundbreaking shows such as My So-Called Life, Six Feet Under, The Newsroom and Westworld.
Poul also returned to produce the Tales of the City sequels, More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City. He resumes those duties this month when the much-anticipated Netflix revival of Tales lands on the streaming platform. The revival marks a full-circle reunion of original cast members Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Barbara Garrick, and Paul Gross, as well as behind-the-scenes talents like Poul and series author Armistead Maupin.
Queerty scored a few minutes with Poul ahead of the Tales of the City premiere to chat about his career and his duty as keeper of the keys to Barbary Lane.
So let the record show we don’t really interview a lot of producers, but you’ve overseen the whole Tales franchise from the very start. Initially, how did Tales of the City come to you?
It was in the early ’90s. The short version: I was working, at the time, with a company called Propaganda Films, which is a seminal production company of the early 90s. We started in music videos but branched out into narrative. They were a sister organization of Working Title [production company behind Fargo, No Country For Old Men and Les Miserables] in the UK, which is still around today
Working Title had the rights to the book, and because it needed to be shot in the US, they’d asked Propaganda to carry the ball. I was the main in-house producer for narrative. They came to me not knowing that I was a huge Armistead and Tales fan, because what young gay man in the 90s wasn’t? They said, “Have you heard of this Tales of the City? Would you be interested in producing?”
So I met with Armistead, Richard Kramer who wrote the original adaptation, and that’s how it happened. It was really just great serendipity.
Flash forward 25 or so years since the original series, and you are one of the original talents returning. How were you able to convince the cast and Netflix, as well as Armistead, to do a new one?
I’d like to take full credit, but I can’t. One of the great things that emerged from the original series for my life was my friendships with Armistead and Laura, which continue. So going back to Working Title, Andrew Stern who was running the TV department at the time, and who is one of our executive producers, discovered that Working Title still had the rights to the book. He’d be a huge fan of the original series too. So he called me and said, “Would you be interested in doing this again?” And I immediately felt that the time was really right given where we are now as a culture, in terms of two different angles.
Which were?
One is how we have changed and diversified with the passing of the generations: an entirely new iteration of queerness and sexual fluidity. And then the second being the state of our nation, and the world, where the all-embracing message of Armistead’s world, I felt, this would be an ideal time to re-inject that into the public conversation. So I called Armistead, and he was aboard. And I called Laura, and she was immediately on board. We weren’t sure how to go about doing a new chapter, it was revisiting an earlier chapter or a new one. Once we knew Laura was on board—the one and only Mary Ann—Mary Ann is middle aged. Laura is middle aged. Let’s just do it today and move on into the future. So that’s how the premise of the current iteration came together. After that, it was just a question of putting together the creative team.
I talked to Lauren Morelli already, who is remarkable.
The next big turning point was Lauren coming onto the project. She incredibly aware of and respectful of Armistead’s world, his style, and the entire Tales canon, but at the same time, being part of the younger generation who was determined to tell the new generation’s stories with authenticity. So that was the key element in the creative team. We put together an all-queer writer’s room that we made sure spanned several generations so we could honor the world from which these stories sprang, while also pushing them forward to address everything that’s happening right now and present a generation of young characters that would be as revelatory and comforting to young queer people today as it was for me, an older gay man, to see myself on screen in the original Tales.
One thing I’m curious about: Armistead wrote a whole series of books. Why did you decide to create all new storylines, rather than rely on those of the existing stories? Obviously, the new series takes seeds from the novels, but it relies more heavily on new stories, albeit with Armistead’s input.
That was fairly early on. We wanted to springboard off of the later books but we had to create stories that were more immediate for the younger generation. I love the books—but the focus of the final three books is really on the older characters settling into middle age or old age. There’s a beautiful elegiac feeling to those books, but we needed to expand the world of the younger people, and make them as much of a focus as returning characters.
Related: WATCH: Queer San Franciscans talk about their own tales of the city
You know, episode eight was very personal for me.
That’s the big flashback episode?
Yeah, and I directed that. Having had the chance to work with Jen Richards and Daniela Vega to create a world and a situation for what it was like for trans women in that era which has never been shown was a great thrill. We broke ground there in a very original way.
And Jen and Daniella are both very good in the episode. I believe this was the first time Daniela has taken an English language role…
It’s the first time she has acted in English, yes.
She’s great. And that also speaks to the diversity equation.
Also—and this was something Armistead was really, whole-heartedly on board with—as well as making the show reflect the reality of present-day San Francisco with all its diversity. And that means diversity of ethnicity, and age, and specifically gender.
And that was something—I was at Outfest, in the room when Armistead announced the new series. And somebody there immediately attacked him for ignoring diversity. And he immediately said, “We’re addressing that.”
I was there too. And even when the original Tales was published he came into criticism. As far back as the 70s. So Armistead has been very eager to diversify the population of Barbary Lane as much as possible.
PBS almost got shut down over the content of the original 1993 series. How did being associated with that affect your career? Did you encounter blowback?
No. But the controversy, and the extent that it got traction in the media was because of some very obnoxious noise making on the religious right, specifically Donald Wildman and the American Family Association. The show was a gigantic rating hit for PBS. It set records for PBS original dramas. So there was no question that the controversy was all ginned up. It took us by surprise because we thought we were making a love letter to San Francisco. And by the way, it’s also worth noting that the original series was made by Channel 4 in the UK, along with PBS. When it aired in the UK there was no controversy at all. It’s very telling.
That it is.
So there was no damage done to me, as anybody who was going to be in the position to collaborate with me or offer me future employment—they appreciated and loved the series. Where we got caught in the political crosshairs was the fact that PBS uses public funds. It was at a time when the Republicans in Congress were gunning for the National Endowment of the Arts, with this mantra that public money shouldn’t be spent on unwholesome art. There was some movement among some members of the House of Representatives about pulling back funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. So because of that, there was a new head of the CPB who then backed down and reneged on the promise PBS had made to finance the second series. That’s because of the noise the religious right made, and it took us three years to find a new home at Showtime. But that didn’t hurt me personally.
You have worked on some groundbreaking shows and films, particularly when it comes to depictions of queer life, and intelligent, independent women.
My guiding motive is to make stories that I love. So I tend to love stories that have complicated and fallible characters. I’m still very committed to telling queer stories, but at the time I started on Tales of the City, there were a dearth of images—certainly positive images—where people my age could see images of themselves reflected in a non-judgmental and interesting way from the point of view of a character. In part, because I did Tales, was in a position to do that. And I’ve also been a part of shows that aren’t very queer at all, like The Newsroom.
Sure.
It’s so hard to make a show or a film. What people don’t often recognize is that it takes just as much effort to make a bad show as a good show. Either way, it’s going to kill you…
[Laughter]
So you better make sure it’s something you really believe in.
The beauty of streaming services like Netflix, HBO and Showtime is that they are not restricting images or depictions of sex. I’m curious: what is it in America that we can show ridiculous violence on network TV, but not sexuality?
I mean, I hesitate to use a broad brush, and I haven’t worked on network shows for a couple of years. But I think that—because this isn’t just television, this has always been a huge bone with the MPAA for movies as well—you can chop off as many heads as you want but if you show a penis, it’s an R-rating. I think it comes from a certain prudishness in the American DNA. In addition, that kind of censorship doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens because of response to public opinion, or in the case of networks, an anticipated response by advertisers who are trying to sell commodities to the public. So it’s the segment of the American public most likely to get upset about sexual depiction. That segment of the public is much less concerned with depictions of violence. I’m not going to extrapolate more from that, but I think you get what I’m saying.
Yeah.
So everything comes down to public opinion that affects what a network will want to show.
Do you think that has something to do with the temptation for directors, executives, producers to film scenes to titillate the audience, rather than just show sex in a frank way?
This is a big thing for me: I really believe in trying to depict sex in a casual way. All of those things are part of our daily lives. But in terms of depiction, or what directors will be tempted to do, that’s exactly the same for sex and violence. Film is innately a sensational medium. From the time of the silent pictures pushing sensations is one thing that film has always done. So the natural tendency to sensationalize sex and violence is as old as the medium.
So with all of this—all these reunions—what was the most emotional moment you had when all this was happening?
The first big emotional trigger was walking onto the set. The set, of course, went up in stages, but there was a certain point where the facade was on the house and the gate was on the fence, and the path was there, and the stairs were on the side of the house. But there was a certain point where the gate was open and you could walk through the gate and see the house. That drove it home in a visceral, emotional way.
You’ve had a long, prestigious career. Orson Welles used to say that every artist should have that one work, that when he dies and meets God for the first time, he can say “I did this. Let me in.” For you, is that the Tales of the City series?
Oh boy…
[Laughter]
Is that too big a question?
That’s a really hard question. I’m not a big St. Peter at the gate guy.
Fair enough.
But in terms of what you’re driving at—it’s the issue of legacy. Then yes, I think more than anything, Tales is my legacy. Particularly, the opportunity to come back 25 years later, and pick up something that you buried 25 years before, is just something that doesn’t happen in a lifetime. It doesn’t happen. You can’t make it happen. But in this case, it happened, and I feel incredibly blessed by that. That gives it a significance that overshadows anything else.
Any chance for more?
We’re all very committed to this as a limited series. But if there is demand, there’s always a way to figure it out. But right now we’re just at a place where we’re really satisfied that we made this happen.
Tales of the City streams on Netflix June 7.
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