Aaron Hernandez’ Gay Lover Speaks Out: ‘We Didn’t Want People to Know’

The late former NFL player Aaron Hernandez’ gay lover speaks out about their relationship in a new profile in the Boston Globe. Hernandez, who was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013, killed himself in his prison cell in 2017.

Dennis SanSoucie told the paper that his relationship with Hernandez began in middle school and continued through high school. Their parents had known each other. SanSoucie’s father Tim had once been on the receiving end of a punch from Hernandez’s father when Tim was coaching their sons’ youth tackle football team.

In high school Dennis SanSoucie and Aaron Hernandez had become something of a phenomenon on the football team. SanSoucie was the quarterback and Hernandez broke a Connecticut high school record by catching 67 passes from SanSoucie.

SanSoucie told the Globe that they got high on marijuana often, and strove to hide their relationship: “Me and him were very much into trying to hide what we were doing. We didn’t want people to know.”

The profile also reveals that Hernandez’s family, particularly his father, was highly homophobic, and objected when Aaron came home one day as a young student and said he wanted to be a cheerleader.

‘Faggot’ was used all the time in our house,” said Hernandez’s brother Jonathan. “All the time. Standing. Talking. Acting. Looking. It was the furthest thing my father wanted you to even look like in our household. This was not acceptable to him.”

SanSoucie is now an out gay man, according to the profile, and  believes Hernandez would be proud of him for talking about their relationship: “I really truly feel in my heart I got the thumbs-up from him.”

Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, Hernandez’s fiancee, wrote about rumors he was gay in the foreword to a book published in August by defense attorney Jose Baez.

Wrote Jenkins-Hernandez, via the Boston Herald: “There has been much speculation about Aaron’s sexuality since his death. I can say this: Aaron was very much a man to me. I saw no indication that he was gay or homosexual. I wish I had known how he felt, just so we could have talked about it. I wouldn’t have disowned him. I would have been supportive. I can’t fault him if he was feeling that way. When you love someone so much you just want to be there to support them. The fact that he felt he couldn’t come out to me or he couldn’t tell me these things hurts, because we had that bond. I’ve accepted that he may have been the way he was said to be, or that it may not be true. Regardless, I won’t know.”

In an Oxygen network special which aired in March, Aaron Hernandez Uncovered, defense attorney George Leontire said the former NFL player was tortured over the fact he was gay,

Said Leontire: “Aaron and I talked about his sexuality. This man clearly was gay. [He] acknowledged it. Acknowledged the immense pain that it caused him…I think that he also came out of a culture that was so negative about gay people that he exhibited some self-hatred.”

The post Aaron Hernandez’ Gay Lover Speaks Out: ‘We Didn’t Want People to Know’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Aaron Hernandez’ Gay Lover Speaks Out: ‘We Didn’t Want People to Know’

HRC Endorses Janet Mills for Maine Governor

HRC announced its endorsement of Janet Mills in her bid to become the next governor of Maine.

“As Attorney General of Maine, Janet Mills has fought tirelessly against discrimination and worked to ensure that all Mainers have an equal opportunity for success,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “A proven leader, Janet is the clear choice for fair-minded voters who want to continue moving Maine forward as a welcoming and inclusive state. HRC is proud to endorse Janet Mills for governor, and we look forward to working closely with her to advance LGBTQ equality.”

“I am proud to earn the support of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that is on the forefront of fighting for full LGBT equality,” said Attorney General Janet Mills. “Throughout my career, whether in the Legislature or as Attorney General, I have fought prejudice and discrimination wherever I encountered it. As Governor, I will continue to do the same, striving to ensure that LGBT Mainers are treated with respect and dignity and that Maine is a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place to live for all.”

As the Attorney General of Maine  — the first and only woman to hold that position  — Mills testified in favor of the historic marriage equality bill and joined other attorneys general across the country in federal lawsuits aimed at stopping discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in the Armed Forces and elsewhere. Between 2002 to 2009, Mills also served in the Maine House of Representatives, where she supported Maine’s landmark legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. She also served as District Attorney for Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties, where she was the first woman to be elected as a district attorney in New England. If elected governor, she has pledged to fully enforce Maine’s non-discrimination laws and policies, protect LGBTQ youth from the discredited and harmful practice of so-called “conversion therapy,” and support inclusive care for transgender Mainers.

In Maine, HRC has identified nearly 290,000 “Equality Voters,” meaning they are strong supporters of progressive LGBTQ policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Last year, HRC announced a coast-to-coast campaign to mobilize voters for the midterm elections called HRC Rising, which represents the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-endorses-janet-mills-for-maine-governor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

SNL Mocks Kanye West’s ‘Cuckoo’ Visit to the Oval Office: WATCH

Saturday Night Live opened by tearing apart this week’s Kanye West visit to the Oval Office for what Alec Baldwin’s Trump described as a “serious private conversation between three friends plus 50 reporters with cameras that is in “no way a publicity stunt.”

Baldwin’s Trump kicked off the conversation: “Kanye, I want to thank you for giving me a pair of your sneakers. They’re perfect for me because they’re white, they’re wide and they’re never gonna be worth as much as you say they are.”

As Chris Redd’s Kanye began his rant, Baldwin’s Trump launched into an inner monologue: “Oh, this guy might be cuckoo. I was in a room with Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-un and they made a lot more sense than him. This guy makes Brett Kavanaugh seem cool and collected….He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t listen to anyone but himself. Who does he remind me of? Oh my god, he’s black me!”

That was a sentiment echoed in the conclusion of the sketch as well, in which Trump’s Baldwin came to terms with that assertion: “I love you Kanye, we have a lot more in common than people know: We’re both geniuses, we’re both married to beautiful women and we’ve both definitely been recorded saying the n-word.”

Watch:

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SNL Mocks Kanye West’s ‘Cuckoo’ Visit to the Oval Office: WATCH

Troye Sivan Shares His Make-Up Routine with ‘Vogue’ – WATCH

“I’ve slowly but surely, half-assed my was into a beauty routine where I do my own make-up,” singer-songwriter Troye Sivan told Vogue in a video in which he shared a regimen that includes moisturizing, misting, concealer, bronzer, eyebrow pencil, setting spray, and rouge.

The post Troye Sivan Shares His Make-Up Routine with ‘Vogue’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Troye Sivan Shares His Make-Up Routine with ‘Vogue’ – WATCH

Michael B. Jordan’s mask, Amini Fonua’s midriff, & The Game’s big talent
Instagram + studs = Instastuds

www.queerty.com/michael-b-jordans-mask-amini-fonuas-midriff-games-big-talent-20181013?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Marriage Equality in Taiwan? Nation faces three marriage referendums
Pro-equality advocates have announced they’ve garnered enough signatures to place a referendum on the fall ballot to begin same-sex weddings.

www.queerty.com/marriage-equality-taiwan-nation-faces-three-marriage-referendums-20181013?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Todrick Hall Apologizes for Putting His Break-Up on Blast: WATCH

Todrick Hall apologized to his ex-boyfriend, his ex-boyfriend’s mother, and the public for putting his break-up on blast in an epic Instagram post earlier this week.

Said Hall in a new two-part video on Instagram: “‘I posted some things on my Insta story a couple days ago I should not have posted. I was in a situation where someone I loved had betrayed me and lied to me. And while he was not my boyfriend, we were in a sort of relationship. There were betrayals and lines that were crossed. I should have handled those situations behind the scenes. And instead I took to Instagram which was a very immature Regina George-esque approach at life, and…I posted things online not realizing the impact that it would have. This person has been receiving death threats and people telling him that he should commit suicide…That is not something that is okay. I don’t think it is fair for me to act like it is you all’s fault for doing that. It’s my fault for blasting him on my social media. I really apologize, I should have taken the Michelle Obama approach. I took the Cardi B approach. I love Cardi B but that was not the time to do that. My mom has taught me better than that.”

Added Hall: “This is not the way I would want my child ever to handle this situation….I will continue working on myself to be a better person for you all.”

The post Todrick Hall Apologizes for Putting His Break-Up on Blast: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Todrick Hall Apologizes for Putting His Break-Up on Blast: WATCH

GLAAD tags in WWE for #SpiritDay 2018 anti-bullying campaign! Watch Superstar Finn Bálor take the pledge to go purple

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-tags-wwe-spiritday-2018-anti-bullying-campaign-watch-superstar-finn-b%C3%A1lor-take-pledge-go

Shawn Mendes and Teddy Geiger Cover Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ — LISTEN

Shawn Mendes and Teddy <3 (aka Teddy Geiger) have covered Queen’s “Under Pressure” for the soundtrack of the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Proceeds from the track will go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust in the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to Mendes.

Teddy is a longtime collaborator with Mendes, who spoke in May about her transition and how it influenced him: “I can’t express how happy that made me. And it’s something I really love to say: it’s a very new thing, right? People transitioning, there are still a lot of people who don’t understand it, and to refer to somebody as a pronoun that you haven’t been referring to them as their entire life, your entire life, is very difficult. But the thing that’s amazing is that I remember the day I said ‘she,’ and it wasn’t because I said it consciously, it was because I said it without thinking, basically just in conversation. I didn’t realize I did it, but she looked at me and she had the most incredible look in her eyes. If every person in the world had one of their best friends look at them that way, and express that much joy in what it meant for her to be referred to as the pronoun she is, there would no longer be an argument [over trans rights]. People would just understand. It’s so powerful to have somebody you’re so close to go through something like that. It’s just f–g beautiful, man. I really wish you could have seen it.”

The post Shawn Mendes and Teddy Geiger Cover Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ — LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Shawn Mendes and Teddy Geiger Cover Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ — LISTEN

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Tim from New Preston, Connecticut!

Sometimes it takes sadness to know happiness and absence to value presence. Elizabeth and Tim understand this. She writes: “Well I pretty gave up on meeting anyone at my age. I was happily married and my husband passed away 10 years ago. I decided to quit Zoosk, but still had time on my membership. I was getting

The post Congratulations to Elizabeth and Tim from New Preston, Connecticut! appeared first on Zoosk.

about.zoosk.com/en/blog/success-stories/congratulations-elizabeth-tim-new-preston-connecticut/