Roger Rees: 1944-2015

Roger Rees, the  Tony Award-winning actor with appearances on television programs Cheers and The West Wing, died last night (10 June). His husband, playwright Rick Elice, and family and friends were at his side at his New York City home. The Welsh-born actor was 71. According to a release from O&M Co. the cause was cancer.

Rees’ career started at the Royal Shakespeare Company and he attended the Slade School of Fine Arts. In 1976, he played Malcolm in Trevor Nunn’s stage production of Macbeth. Two years later, he reprised the role for television.

He took the title role in the original production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, David Edgar’s stage adaptation of the Dickens novel. His performance won him the Olivier and Tony Awards for best actor in 1982.

In 1984, he starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in the television movie The Ebony Tower. From 1988 to 1991 he starred in the sitcom Singles, with co-star Judy Loe. From 1989 to 1991 and in 1993, he appeared on the award winning series Cheers. Later television appearances include substitute teacher Mr. Racine on My So-Called Life, British Ambassador Lord John Marbury on The West Wing, and James MacPherson on Warehouse 13.

Reese was also a presence on the big screen. In 1983 he co-starred with Mariel Hemingway in Star 80. He played the Sheriff of Rottingham in Mel Brooks’ film Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Later film appearances include Frida (2002) and The Prestige (2006).

According to a 2012 profile in The New Yorker, Elice saw Rees in the Broadway production of Nickleby. Describing his future husband as ‘devastatingly beautiful,’ the playwright sent him a letter to invite him to a benefit. Rees did not reply. A year later, after a dress reseal for Cats, the two met again.

‘Standing before me was a six-foot-four, extraordinarily handsome American in a Burberry raincoat,’ Rees recalled to the magazine in 2012. ‘It was the raincoat that did it.’

There was a date, and that led to a long-distance relationship. Rees relocated to New York City in 1995, and the pair lived together. In 2011, two months after same-sex marriage became legal in New York, they married.

Nunn described the actor,  in a statement, as ‘inspirational. He had the perpetual boyishness and mischief of a Peter Pan, extraordinary wit combined with a gift for self-satire, and dauntless optimism coupled with deep-rooted belief.’

According to NPR, Sir Patrick Stewart tweeted the following:

Brilliant actor, dear friend and colleague, witty, kind, private man, Roger Rees died this morning. A space is left that cannot be filled.

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) July 11, 2015

A private funeral service will be held next week; details of a memorial will be forthcoming.

The post Roger Rees: 1944-2015 appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/roger-rees-1944-2015/

A street artist makes Julius Cesar a queer icon in Rome

A rainbow coloured Julius Cesar gazes out atop his famous lines: ‘The die is cast.’

In celebration of LGBTI civil victories across the world, a Roman street artist presented a ‘revised’ portrait of the city’s most famous citizen on Friday.

Mauro Pallotta drew Julius Cesar covered in rainbow colours accompanied by the quote: ‘Alea iacta est’ (the die is cast).

He said: ‘After the historic result of the Supreme Court in the US recently, and the Irish Yes Equality campaign, [I] wanted to reiterate what [Cesar] said first of all: “The die is cast”.’

He was alluding to the momentum the gay rights movement has gained in recent years.

Julius Cesar was born on July 12 100BC. Whether he was a ‘queer icon’ is disputed.

He was not openly homosexual, but suspected to have engaged in affairs with men when young.

During his time as a general, he was teased for a youthful affair he had with a Turkish king: Nicomedes IV.

To taunt him and reduce his credibility, his enemies crafted the phrase: ‘Caesar may have conquered the Gauls, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar.’

Same-sex relationships were tolerated in Cesar’s time and common. However it was considered unmasculine to be the passive partner (‘bottom’), as the chant suggests.

The post A street artist makes Julius Cesar a queer icon in Rome appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/a-street-artist-makes-julius-cesar-a-queer-icon-in-rome/

Gay Iconography: Bow Down To Bey

When I started this column in 2013, there was one pop star in particular that inspired my preoccupation with pop stars and the gay men who love them. That star: Beyoncé.

Queen Bey, while widely adored in the gay community, is a divisive figure when it comes to bestowing the title of gay icon. When Beyoncé released her self-titled fifth solo album to widespread critical and commercial success, some members of the LGBTQ community felt a little slighted by the former Destiny’s Child singer. One writer for Slate pointed out that Bey’s failure to acknowledge her gay fans among the album’s strong themes of feminism, empowerment and sexuality. The conversation sparked by the Slate post inspired passionate responses and prompted further examination of how one qualifies as a gay icon. Additionally, as a popular black artist with a large gay fanbase, she was at the center of a debate surrounding gay men misappropriating black female culture.

Throughout her career, however, Bey has shown support for the LGBTQ community. She shared a handwritten message of support for marriage equality to her nearly 40 million Instagram followers. When the Supreme Court decision came down, she shared a special rainbow-themed rendition of her “7/11” video.

In an interview with PrideSource, Beyoncé spoke about her relationship to her gay fans:

“Most of my audience is actually women and my gay fans, and I’ve seen a lot of the younger boys kind of grow up to my music. It’s great when I’m able to do the meet and greets, because I’m able to really connect and have conversations. People look at some of the artists that I admire – like Diana Ross and Cher – and they identity that glamour with Sasha Fierce, and I’ve been really inspired by the language. I have my (gay) stylists and my makeup artist, and all of their stories and the slang words I always put it in my music. We inspire each other.”

Wherever you land on Beyoncé’s place among the pantheon of gay icons like Judy, Barbra and Bette, it’s impossible to deny the impact she’s left in pop culture.

Here are some of our favorite Beyoncé musical moments:

The world first really got to know Her Beyjesty as part of the late-‘90s girl group Destiny’s Child. With hits like “Bills Bills Bills,” “Say My Name,” and “Bootylicious,” Destiny’s Child sold more than 60 million records worldwide. Their track “Independent Women, Pt. 1” (above) was named by Billboard as one of the Top 20 most successful songs of the 2000s.

As a solo artist, Beyoncé has also amassed a massive catalog of hits and awards. She is the second most-honored woman at the Grammys, with 20 statues earned for work with Destiny’s Child and a solo artist. One of her most enduring anthems, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” inspired countless recreations across YouTube. It was a central performance on Glee, and was even covered by one of the grande dame gay icons Liza Minnelli in the sequel to the Sex And the City movie.

She paired with Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga, for their duet “Telephone.” The cinematic music video, above, was named the best video of the decade (so far) by Billboard.

If there was ever a reason to tune into the typically tedious Super Bowl halftime show, it would’ve been for Beyoncé. When she took to the field halfway through the game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2013, she set the stage ablaze with a blistering performance. The incredible medley of hits (including former Destiny’s Child bandmates Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland shooting up from under the stage) is one of the most tweeted-about moments in history, garnering an astonishing 268,000 tweets per minute.

As she describes on Nicki Minaj’s track “Feeling Myself,” Mrs. Carter “changed the game with that digital drop.” She’s referring to the surprise release of her masterpiece of a fifth album that arrived with no prior promotion, breaking the mold of typical album release strategy. On top of the self-titled disc’s revolutionary arrival, she also released beautifully shot videos for every single track simultaneously.

What do you think? Is Beyoncé a worthy gay icon?

The post Gay Iconography: Bow Down To Bey appeared first on Towleroad.

Bobby Hankinson

www.towleroad.com/2015/07/gay-iconography-bow-bey/

Kid Spokesman for Focus on The Family Wants SCOTUS Put in Time Out

Focus on the Family’s latest temper tantrum over the arrival of nationwide marriage equality might be its most desperate yet.

read more

Sunnivie Brydum

www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/07/11/kid-spokesman-focus-family-wants-scotus-put-time-out

Samsung ban gay-dating apps in South Korea over ‘moral’ concerns

Samsung and Google Play have taken down gay networking apps including Jack’d in South Korea according to app developers.

A report from Buzzfeed released Friday found Samsung, based in Seoul, refuses to list apps like Hornet, Grindr or Scruff in its country owing to ‘local moral values.’

Hornet’s CEO Sean Howell received an email which said his app had been removed due to: ‘Local moral values and laws [in which] LGBT is not allowed’.

It also said it: ‘Does limit LGBT content on a country-by-country basis.’

Hornet isn’t listed in Syria, Iceland or Argentina too – though the last two legalised gay marriage.

Another app Jack’d was banned in South Korea, but from the more popular Google Play website. Google have not said why.

However, the app’s mangers report they have around 500,000 users in South Korea. Presumably South Koreans are using loopholes like VPN to download apps banned in their country. Guides to doing so are easily avaliable online.

South Korea has the fastest broadband, and the highest smartphone penetration in the world, making it a lucrative and fast-growing market for developers.

However the country is notably conservative and religious; the government recently tried to close down its 16th pride parade, but failed after much protest.

Censorship is present in South Korea owing to the ongoing war with North Korea.

Despite no military action taken for decades, censors are cautious of anything which could be perceived as abnormal.

The post Samsung ban gay-dating apps in South Korea over ‘moral’ concerns appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/samsung-ban-gay-dating-apps-in-south-korea-over-moral-concerns/

Stockton, CA Police Lieutenant Blasts SCOTUS Ruling, ‘Vile and Sinful’ Homosexuality in Letter to Paper: VIDEO

A Stockton, California police lieutenant is under investigation after publishing a letter this week condemning the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, and arguing that homosexuality is “vile and sinful”, against natural law, and will lead to God’s destruction of the nation.

Stockton, located in the San Joaquin Valley, is the 13th most populous city in California.

Wrote Lt. Toby Will in his letter, which you can read in full here:

The Word of God is going forth with striking clarity and Divine accuracy. Man’s rebellion, ungodliness, and unrighteousness in rejecting the truth in order that he may live according to the vile and sinful passions of his corrupt heart is going to be met with the wrath of God.

When the highest court in the land ignores, twists, and misinterprets that governing document that was framed out of a noble and healthy respect for God and His word, and when the highest office in the land publicly declares the legitimizing of homosexuality to be a great victory for the nation, you can be sure that God is giving that nation over to its own destruction.

We are living in a time when the institutions ordained by God, marriage and family, which provide the very bedrock for civilized society, are being dismantled before our very eyes; and when marriage and family are dismantled, the nation that dismantles them will not stand.

Whoever speaks out against this blatant debauchery and dares to take a stand for the truth, will find themselves standing alone. But those who are willing to stand alone for the truth will find that God stands with them.

Will made a special request to the paper that his name and position in the police department be published.

He is now under review, the Stockton Record reports:

“He does not speak for the Police Department, and regarding his use of his police position, it is under administrative review,” department spokesman Officer Joe Silva said Wednesday. Silva could not discuss what that administrative review might lead to.

After reading the letter, Police Chief Eric Jones made a call to the San Joaquin Pride Center “to reassure them that Will does not speak for the Police Department,” Silva said.

Nicholas Hatten, executive director of the Pride Center, described his organization’s relationship with the Police Department as very good.

“We provided them with LGBT sensitivity training, and I don’t know if the lieutenant received the training. I wish he would have voiced his opposition to our faces rather than in a letter,” Hatten said Wednesday.

Local LGBT advocates are understandably concerned.

Said Stockton Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, chair of the LGBT caucus, to News10:

“I choked on my coffee [when I read the letter]…When you need to call 911, you should feel safe that the person who responds is there to support you no matter who you are.”

Watch News10’s report:

The post Stockton, CA Police Lieutenant Blasts SCOTUS Ruling, ‘Vile and Sinful’ Homosexuality in Letter to Paper: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Stockton, CA Police Lieutenant Blasts SCOTUS Ruling, ‘Vile and Sinful’ Homosexuality in Letter to Paper: VIDEO

Homophobic nurse tries to stop gay parents adopting their son

Gay dad Andy Miller from South Houston, Texas, has revealed the chilling circumstances surrounding his son’s birth.

Speaking as part of the ‘I’m From Driftwood’ project, a story-telling community for LGBTI individuals, Andy explained the journey he and his partner took on the way to becoming parents.

After getting on well with the birth mother and her family, Andy and his partner were all set to collect their son from hospital after he was born.

But while the pair left the hospital to allow the mother to recover, a nurse threatened to derail the adoption process by asking a series of homophobic questions.

Andy described the moment he received a panicked call from the birth mother.

‘We rushed back to the hospital and she starts telling us that one of the nurses that was assigned to her to come in and check all of her sutures started asking her a lot of questions, starting with, “Aren’t you the girl that’s giving your baby up for adoption?” which is a huge red flag for us,’ he said.

‘We went through adoption class and anyone who uses that term like ‘giving up a baby’ is already coming to that conversation with some judgment.’

As well as using unhelpful language, Andy explained the nurse asked their birth mother if she was afraid her son would hate her for allowing him to be adopted by a gay couple.

She also asked: ‘Aren’t you afraid those boys are going to hurt that baby, aren’t you afraid that he’s not going to grow up and be normal?’

Despite their birth mother being visibly shaken, a social worker helped her decide whether or not to place her child with the couple.

Eventually, she decided to stick with her original decision, and now Andy and his partner are the proud fathers to a little boy.

Andy added: ‘No one’s given an easy ride when a child enters the world. There’s always two things that happen: Money exchanges hands and there is pain.

‘It’s just a question of how those two things happen.

‘And for the LGBT community, a lot of times the way it happens for us is, money exchanges hands between the adoption agency and prospective parents. And the pain is oftentimes emotional.

‘It’s not physical pain that comes with the birth. But we’re all kind of more alike than different in that regard.’

Watch Andy’s full video below:

The post Homophobic nurse tries to stop gay parents adopting their son appeared first on Gay Star News.

Mel Spencer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/homophobic-nurse-tries-to-stop-gay-parents-adopting-their-son/

Conservative Groups Urge Alabama Supreme Court to Defy SCOTUS Marriage Ruling

SCOTUSblog’s Lyle Denniston reports on a disturbing development in the Deep South’s ongoing fight against nationwide marriage equality.

Asked by the Alabama Supreme Court for advice on how to respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, the Alabama Policy Institution and the inter-denominational church support group Alabama Citizens Action Program have both urged for direct and indirect resistance.

Denniston writes:

Three days after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the state court asked the two groups and two probate judges directly involved in the case for their views on the effect of the Supreme Court decision on the state court’s earlier action.  The two probate judges said in short briefs that the state court had to respect and follow the binding ruling of the Supreme Court — the same position that Alabama’s attorney general has taken.

But the two organization leading the challenge before the state court used a combination of arguments — points made by the dissenting Justices in the Obergefell decision on the errors they found  in the majority ruling, the protests of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., against “unjust laws,” and a series of Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings defying the Supreme Court in a mid-nineteenth-century runaway slave case — to persuade the state judges to treat the Obergefell ruling as not binding on them.

Denniston adds that “depending on what the state court now does, it could set up a new federal-state collision that potentially could go to the Supreme Court.”

Presumably though, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore doesn’t even need this outside advice on why it’s a “good” idea to break the law as his Foundation for Moral Law has already pledged to defy the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage.

Read the defiant brief below:
 

The post Conservative Groups Urge Alabama Supreme Court to Defy SCOTUS Marriage Ruling appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Conservative Groups Urge Alabama Supreme Court to Defy SCOTUS Marriage Ruling

'Not All Mommies Love Their Babies The Way I Love You'
It happened a few weeks ago when we were all in the car. The kids sat in the back talking about Wario and how his farts could KO an opponent. (Yes, my children play way too much Nintendo Smash Bros. And no, I have no idea if Wario can actually KO with flatulence alone… and I’m not sure if I want to.) My husband and I were in the front listening to NPR. They were talking about the Duggar family, specifically Josh Duggar and his admission of guilt to the molestation charges against him. Everything about the made (makes) me furious: The focus on the perpetrator and not his victims; the fact that the perpetrator in question was the executive director of the FRC’s lobbying group, the “Family” Research Council — the organization that prides itself in perpetuating lies and hate about gay people. Gay people like my oldest son. The one, with his brothers, providing the snorting laughter soundtrack to the news and my fury.

“I hope none of those kids are gay,” I said quietly, thinking of the 19 Duggar children.

My husband put his hand on my knee. “I know. Me too.”

“Who do you hope isn’t gay?” my oldest son asked.

If you don’t have children, you might not know that selective hearing is a real thing. When I tell my children to pick up their socks and put them down the chute, I get no response. When I announce it’s time for bed, nothing. When I tell them eating their vegetables is not optional, nada. But when I hit my funny bone on the counter in an empty kitchen and say “Fuck!” under my breath, instantly, a little boy voice from the other side of the house will holler, “Mom said a bad word! The really bad one!” The traitorous little monsters.

I sighed. Damned selective hearing. I didn’t want to have this conversation. Not again. I’ve talked to my son a number of times about how there are people who don’t like gay people. It’s a matter of safety and security. No matter how much his own life is full of rainbow advocates, he needs to know about the real world. So, I fight against that maternal instinct that makes me want to wrap him in breathable bubble wrap and protect him from all the bad parts of the world, and I grit my teeth and tell him. And although he nods gravely in all the right places, I don’t think he really believes me. It’s just not his world.

“There is this family,” I said, “and they have a whole lot of kids, but they believe in God and Jesus in way that makes them think being gay is bad and wrong. I don’t want any of their kids to be gay because it would be really hard for them in that family.”

“But that doesn’t matter,” he states in that my-mother-is-the-stupidest-person-in-the-world voice. “If they’re gay, it doesn’t matter what they think.”

And I sigh again. Because he is right. I would love it if gay kids were only born to parents who love and celebrate them, but that’s not what happens.

“Some parents get sad and angry when their kids are gay. They have a really hard time with it.”

“Yeah,” he said, “but why is it hard?”

I struggled. “Not all mommies love their babies the way I love you.”

“Like your mom?” he asked.

And my heart stopped. I was thrown back to the last time I had heard myself say those words. We were in the car again, over five years ago. My son was in kindergarten and obsessed with the relationships of everyone in his life.

“Grandma and Grandpa are Daddy’s mommy and daddy. Uncle Harold is your brother, and Papa is your daddy,” he recited to me then paused. “And you don’t have a mommy.”

His words struck me. The cold hard truth of them chilled me. My mother is not part of our lives. It was a tough decision, but one I had to make for my children and myself. I no longer have a relationship with her, and neither do my kids.

“I do have a mommy, but we don’t see her.”

“Why not?”

“Well,” I started and stopped, not knowing how to explain mental illness to my 5-year-old. “Not all mommies love their babies the way I love you.”

Back in the present day, I was silent for a few moments. “Yeah,” I finally said, my voice thick, “kind of like that.”

“Your mom hurt you,” he said.

“Yeah, she did.”

“She hurt your heart and made you cry.”

I turned around to look at him, and in his eyes was a depth that went well beyond the short decade he’s lived. I nodded. “Yes, she did.” I then looked at my middle son and saw his huge hazel eyes swimming with tears. I took his little hand in mine and squeezed it. “I love you,” I said looking straight into his watery gaze. I turned to our youngest, quiet in the back seat. “I love you,” I said to him.

“I love you, too, Mama,” he smiled back at me, not a care in the world.

And then I turned back to my oldest. “I love you.”

He looked at me in silence for a minute. “I know.” And for the first time, I could tell he understood.

Sometimes people ask me if it is hard having a gay kid. Having kids is hard. No matter the kids, no matter the parents, raising children is really, really hard. But my kid being gay isn’t even on the top of the list of the things that worry me the most. I talk to teachers more about my middle son being bullied for being a nerd. I put more mental effort toward helping my oldest son with his learning disability. I spend more hours wondering if my youngest will ever regularly sleep through the night. I put more effort on all of those things than I do having a gay kid. My kid, all my kids, are awesome and beautiful and crazy and frustrating. They are my kids. That’s the way it is supposed to be. I am their mother and I love them. That’s the way it is supposed to be.

The toughest conversation I ever had with them was that one right there. In the car, what started with undirected anger at a stranger and religious hate and ended with explaining to my children that I know, really know, what it is like when something other than love guides mothering. And seeing that they understood. I don’t want them to understand things like that. But that’s not the world we live in.

People use all kinds of excuses to not love their children, not the way they deserve to be loved. And none of them are OK.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Asians respond to question: ‘Would you tell your parents if you were gay?’

Asian adults have revealed how their parents would respond if they came out as gay, in a video created to educate others about Asian culture and values.

Titled ‘Would You Tell Your Parents If You Were Gay’, in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, a range of adults of all ages answer three important questions: ‘What do Asians think of same-sex marriage?’, ‘Would you you tell your parents if you were gay?’ and ‘What would you do if your son or daughter was gay/lesbian?’

When asked whether she come out to her parents, if she were gay, one participant responded:

‘I think that parents, really Asian parents, are not really very good at dealing with this kind of news.’

Another revealed: ‘I think it would be hard for some people to come around.’

‘I heard ones where he’s completely ostracised, very disappointed.’

She even revealed the extent to which gay people are willing to go to conceal their sexuality.

‘Have you heard about how two lesbians and two gays got married to each other? And they live next to each other, and when the parents come, they switch houses? So, that’s how they get around it in some ways.’

One father even implied he would take his child to receive psychological help if they were to come out.

‘I would be totally shocked,’ he said.

‘Maybe I would bring him or her to see some people.’

Another mother explained her fears about keeping her son, if he were gay, at an all boys’ school.

‘Luckily, at present, he is straight,’ she said.

‘But if those things happen, I’m open-minded, I would respect his opinion. I wouldn’t have any discrimination or any strong opposition to that.’

As an Asian woman, she explained, she would be surprised and shocked, as being gay goes against her custom and tradition.

Despite many negative attitudes, some video participants were more accepting.

‘It’s up to the younger people to do their research and see if they can change the minds of the generations before them,’ one woman explained.

Watch the full video below:

The post Asians respond to question: ‘Would you tell your parents if you were gay?’ appeared first on Gay Star News.

Mel Spencer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/asians-respond-to-question-would-you-tell-your-parents-if-you-were-gay/