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WATCH: 'Wicked' Sing-along Heals Manchester After Antigay Attack
Tram passengers and LGBT choir members joined forces this week to prove that Manchester is a place #SafeToSing after a violent antigay attack earlier this month.
Thom Senzee
www.advocate.com/world/2014/11/19/watch-wicked-sing-along-heals-manchester-after-antigay-attack
The Unauthorized Top 5 Gay NYC Holiday Musts
First off, in creating a gay holiday must see list, lets set the record straight: my picks may be unauthorized (as in who deemed him queen of NY!), but they are not uninformed.
I’ve been swirling through gay Manhattan for two decades. Before I began writing novels, I spent a year as editor of the city’s gay guide Next Magazine, and for several years contributed queer content to Access NY guide books.
Truth is, I absolutely adore Manhattan during the holidays. There’s no better place in the world. It was tough to come up with a top five must do list, but I considered everything from literary lushness to naked ambition. And to add a touch of spice, I’ve enlisted the charming Jamie Brickhouse, a fellow Huffington Post Blogger and author of the upcoming sure-to-be-a-hit Dangerous When Wet: A Memoir (May, 2015) to name a must do. Enjoy!
Hit The Stores!
The city holiday windows are awe inspiring. Forgot botox, the years melt away every time I take in this treat. Visit the four Bs (Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bendels). They do not disappoint. It is key, however, to go at night. The windows shimmering in the dark are fabulous, plus if you go after dusk, you avoid the crowds and the gawkers. You can press your nose against the glass, sip a flask of hot cocoa (or toddy)and bask in gay glory.
And a note on the Barney’s Baz Dazzled windows: Baz Luhrmann created the windows with his wife Catherine Martin and Barney’s will donate 25 percentf of all sales from the limited edition Baz Dazzled Holiday collection to Room To Read, a non-profit organization for improving literacy and gender equality in education in the developing world.
The Santa Closet
As much as I relate to Valerie Cherish in HBO’s The Comeback (if you haven’t seen this insanely brilliant show stop reading this and cue up season one now!) my inner holiday child wept snowflake tears over Jeffrey Solomon’s wonderful solo show, The Santa Closet which has returned to the city for a very limited run. It’s a multi-character smorgasbord focusing on a boy who writes to Santa Claus for a doll, and receives a truck instead. I asked for an easy bake oven and got a chemistry set. Ugh! There are only two performances so get a move on girls! November 25th and December 10 at 7pm at STAGE 72 / THE TRIAD NYC. The performance will benefit PFLAG NYC on 11/25 and Truth Wins Out on 12/10.
Get Lit!
As a writer, I had a host of ideas for a great gay literary holiday must do, including curling up next to the fire with a great book like The Stranger’s Child by the Man Booker prize winning author Allan Hollinghurst. I went with poetry, as poets and their use of language never cease to amaze me. Check out the star studded poetry reading at the Bureau of General Services-Queer Division in NYC (208 West 13th Street, Room 210 Between 7th Ave. and Greenwich Ave.). The reading is hosted by Lawrence Kaplun and features Adam Fitzgerald, Maureen McLane, and Stephen Burt. Adam Fitzgerald is the author of The Late Parade (Liveright / Norton) and serves as editor of the literary journal, Maggy. Maureen McLane is the author of three books of poems, most recently, This Blue (FSG) which is a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award. Stephen Burt is the author of three books of poems, most recently, Belmont (Graywolf).
Lettuce Rejoice!
From fellow Huffington Post Blogger and author, Jamie Brickhouse: “If it weren’t for Hedda Lettuce’s annual holiday show, ‘Lettuce Rejoice,’ Christmas would be nothing but a lousy reason to give Grandma another pair of Isotoner Gloves. Hedda’s jolly cocktail of live singing and comedy reminds me that Christmas isn’t about Jesus.” It’s about Mary! “Lettuce Rejoice: The end is near, but nothing can stop Christmas” December 13 – 24 at> The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St. $25.00 (212) 206-0440. Jamie Brickhouse is the author of Dangerous When Wet: A Memoir (May, 2015)
Naughty New Year
I promised a bit of naked ambition before I closed out my list, so here it is, for those of you who want a little spice in your stocking (I confess I’m quite happily vanilla). In my single years (before I met my amazing boyfriend!), I danced many a summer night away at Daniel Nardicio’s Fire Island Underwear party. What a hoot! Indeed, my dear friend Charlotte and I would toss on our 2xist and hit the Cherry Grove boardwalk. So, if all the holiday windows and eggnog aren’t your gay thing, try something a touch naughty at Daniel Nardicio and Owen Hawk’s New Year’s Cockin’ Eve! The 13th Annual NYE Masked Ball. www.dworld.us
The Six Best Quotes From Today’s Montana Victory
Montana AG Tim Fox
Don’t look now, but we’re quickly running out of states where we can grouse about not being treated as equals under the law. Marriage equality should be starting any minute now — if it hasn’t already — in Montana, the last state in the Ninth Circuit to get the freedom to marry.
There’s still some question about whether Montana Attorney General Tim Fox will appeal the decision. It would be pretty pointless for him to do so, since every single court he could turn to at this point has indicated that marriages can go ahead. But he might still try.
This was going to be a slightly more drawn-out process. A judge had scheduled oral argument in the state for yesterday, but then cancelled it after the Ninth Circuit overturned marriage bans in neighboring Nevada and Idaho. Apparently, Judge Brian Morris had heard all he needed to hear, because he issued a ruling today that’s pretty fantastic. Here are some of the best points that he made:
Antigay Lawyers Need to Stop Saying that Marriage is None of the Court’s Business
Antigay attorneys love to rely on the Baker case, in which a 1972 dismissal from the U.S. Supreme Court stated that marriage equality wasn’t a federal issue. That was 42 years ago, and a lot has changed since then. Nevertheless, state attorneys keep bringing it up to try to persuade courts that they shouldn’t weigh in; and courts keep shooting that argument down.
” Baker no longer precludes consideration of challenges to the constitutionality of laws that prohibit same-sex marriage,” Judge Morris wrote.
Discrimination is Discrimination Even if You Say it Isn’t
Incredibly, Montana tried to claim that its gay marriage ban doesn’t single out gays and lesbians. “Defendants contend that these facially neutral laws apply with equal force to all persons,” Morris wrote.
But that’s obviously not true. “Montana’s laws that ban same-sex marriage likewise discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation,” he concluded.
Gays Get Heightened Scrutiny
This isn’t new — the Ninth Circuit has afforded a higher level of scrutiny to laws impacting LGBTs since last year. But it’s nice to see lower courts abiding by that decision, rather than finding some loophole and trying to squirm out of it.
“The Ninth Circuit previously had determined that rational basis review should apply to classifications based on sexual orientation,” Morris wrote, but now “This Court must evaluate Montana’s ban on same-sex marriage using the heightened scrutiny analysis. ”
Marriage Bans are Pointless
“Defendants fail to put forth any persuasive argument that the discriminatory means employed by these laws relate substantially to the achievement of any important governmental objectives,” Judge Morris writes. That’s about as clear as a judge could possibly be on the topic! You law is dumb, Montana, and you should feel bad.
Morris heavily cites the previous Idaho and Nevada case, known as Latta. In that case, he writes, “The defendants also argued that permitting same-sex marriage will encourage opposite-sex couples to opt-out of marriage. The defendants argued that a father who sees a child being raised by two women will decide that it is unnecessary for his children to have a father. The court disparaged this proposition as a ‘crass and callous view of parental love.’”
Gay Parents are Awesome
Judge Morris gets poetic at the end of his ruling:
These families want for their children what all families in Montana want. They want to provide a safe and loving home in which their children have the chance to explore the world in which they live. They want their children to have the chance to discover their place in this world. And they want their children to have the chance to fulfill their highest dreams.
Nice!
Stop Dicking Around and Start Marrying
Some courts have stayed their decisions regarding marriage so that anti-gay lawyers have time to appeal. Judge Morris has no time for that nonsense. “The Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS the State of Montana and its officers, employees, agents, and political subdivisions from enforcing [the ban],” he writes. “This injunction shall take effect immediately.”
matt baume
NEWS: Keystone XL, Don Lemon, Norman Lear, Michael Sam
Megachurch pastor calls women who have premarital sex “filthy dishrags”: “One wonders, whatever happened to purity?” Lancaster Baptist Church pastor Paul Chappell asked in a sermon. “Whatever happened to that? Whatever happened to the days when girls said, ‘I’m not going to be touched by every guy? I’m not going to walk down the aisle like a filthy dishrag on my wedding day.’ Whatever happened to that day?”
Keystone XL Pipeline is defeated for now.
Cate Blanchett is the wicked stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter is the fairy godmother in new trailer for Cinderella.
Don Lemon ignites controversy over remarks he made to woman who accused Bill Cosby of rape.
Kathy Griffin will be taking over for the late great Joan Rivers on Fashion Police.
Chris Hemsworth may have won, but here’s to the runners up.
Meanwhile, Chris Pratt fans are none too happy with People‘s verdict.
At 92, Norman Lear, famed creator of the 70s sitcom All in the Family, still has it. Responding to an inaccurate headline–“Norman Lear: Archie Bunker Was Not Racist Hater Like Tea Party”–“on conservative website Breitbart that twisted comments Lear made about the Tea Party to MSNBC, Lear answered why he thought Breitbart would run such a headline: “The site is known as Breitbart, not Breitsmart.”
Is Jon Stewart a ‘Cumberb*tch’?: “You’re the first guest, I want to rip your clothes and sell them on eBay…If you were to go on the Internet and oil up your backside and bear it in a Kardashian-like pose, this planet could end.”
Pitch Perfect 2 is coming–aca-awesome?
Obama to address the nation tomorrow on imigration. Jonathan Capeheart wonders about the timing: “The @Scandal effect?–> President Obama’s speech is at 8pm. Previous addresses to nation have been at 9pm, when #Scandal airs on Thursdays.”
Nick Jonas knows how to keep warm up his fans who waited out in the cold to see him: “It was cold. My fans are awesome. They waited in the cold. So naturally I had to get them hot chocolate.”
Anna Wintour addresses the Kim-Ye Vogue cover: “I think if we just remain deeply tasteful and just put deeply tasteful people on the cover, it would be a rather boring magazine! Nobody would talk about us. It’s very important that people do talk about us.”
Michael Sam tweets his well wishes to Jason Collins after Collins announced he was retiring from the NBA.
Congrats to @jasoncollins98 on the end of a long and successful career. Wishing you the best on what’s to come next, I know it’ll be great
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) November 19, 2014
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/news-keystone-xl-don-lemon-norman-lear-michael-sam.html
PHOTOS: Super Flemish by Sacha Goldberger
Sacha Goldberger’s mash-up of content, period, and Flemish master lighting reveals the sweet melancholy of superheroism.
Christopher Harrity
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2014/11/19/photos-super-flemish-sacha-goldberger
Jason Collins: Fear Keeps Gay Professional Athletes From Coming Out
After he came out in April 2013, Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete active in any of the four recognized major North American professional team sports leagues. When the 35-year-old retired from the NBA in November 2014, he was still the only out athlete ever to have played a game in the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL.
In a pair of first-person essays published Wednesday by Sports Illustrated and The Players’ Tribune announcing his retirement, Collins reflected on his own experiences as an LGBT pioneer and also addressed the concerns of other gay athletes who have yet to come out.
For Sports Illustrated, Collins wrote:
There are still no publicly gay players in the NFL, NHL or major league baseball. Believe me: They exist. Every pro sport has them. I know some of them personally. When we get to the point where a gay pro athlete is no longer forced to live in fear that he’ll be shunned by teammates or outed by tabloids, when we get to the point where he plays while his significant other waits in the family room, when we get to the point where he’s not compelled to hide his true self and is able to live an authentic life, then coming out won’t be such a big deal. But we’re not there yet.
In the piece published at The Players’ Tribune, Collins recounted a moment from his playing career when he experienced the fear of being outed by one his teammates:
“Hey Jason … Jason! How come we never see you with any women? Are you gay?”
The team bus was uncomfortably silent. Everybody from the front of the bus to the back heard the question. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. In sports, guys bust each other’s balls all the time. I had been asked that question a few different times by teammates in my previous years in the league, but this time was different. Whenever guys would go out on the town on road trips, I always had a built-in excuse — a trip to a local casino or a visit to a family friend or a college buddy in that city who I had to go see. Sometimes those friends were real. Sometimes I made them up and would sit alone in the hotel watching TV while the guys went out to enjoy the nightlife.
Collins, feeling angry yet embarrassed, asked himself: “What would a straight guy do in this situation?” From the back of the bus, another teammate claimed he had recently seen Collins out with a woman, diffusing the tense moment. For Collins, keeping up the act of being straight was “exhausting.”
After coming out, Collins received a warm welcome from fans in his debut with the Nets against the Lakers in Los Angeles as well as in his first home game in Brooklyn. Before his historic first game with the Nets, Collins was asked during a press conference to deliver a message to other gay athletes who had yet to come out.
“My message to other athletes is just be yourself. Be your true authentic self and never be afraid or ashamed or have any fear to be your true, authentic self,” Collins told reporters.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Montana Marriage Ban
Today U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled against Montana’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality
HRC.org
Did Andy Cohen Officially Out Kevin Spacey? And Does It Even Matter?
Despite being photographed playing naked “butt bongos” with male pals while partying off the Croatian coast in 2008, getting snapped by paparazzi getting cozy with a male model in Los Angeles in 2000, or filing a police report after being mugged at 4 a.m. in a London park notorious for gay hookups, 55-year-old Kevin Spacey has always remained tight-lipped about his sexual orientation.
“Let’s let people live their lives and do it the way they want to do it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “All the chips will fall in the end, and we’ll all be judged by a much higher power.”
But at least one celebrity has had enough of Mr. Spacey’s decision to keep his private life private.
In his new book The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year, total top Andy Cohen has some rather choice words for the Academy Award-winning actor.
In one of his “diary entires” dated September 9, 2013, the reality TV mogul writes that he and his dad were at the U.S. Open men’s finals when they ran into Mr. Spacey: “Kevin Spacey was in front of us with a face full of makeup and three male companions who were definitely NOT raising any questions.”
In another entry, Cohen writes that when fellow gay Neil Patrick Harris dropped by his show, the two dished on Spacey’s sexual orientation: “NPH and I talked about a lot of gay stuff, including debating Kevin Spacey; I still get enraged when I think about him talking about being in love with that woman on 60 Minutes. Come out, sir.”
This begs the question: Does Andy have a point? With more and more celebrities coming out, setting a positive example and paving the way for future generations of LGBT entertainers, should Kevin Spacey follow suit? Or does he have a right to privacy? And what message is he sending by refusing to talk publicly about his sexual orientation?
What do you think? Sound off in the comments section below.
Related stories:
Kevin Spacey Still Bristles Over Esquire Magazine Article That Suggested He’s Gay
These Are Some Of The Greatest Coming Out Stories Of 2014
Kevin Spacey: Not Talking About My Sexuality Doesn’t Mean I’m ‘Living A Lie’
Graham Gremore
Federal Judge Strikes Down Montana's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris (pictured) has ruled that Montana’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, thus making it unconstitutional. Morris’ order is effective immediately and is not stayed, though the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court may still intervene and stay the decision. As Think Progress reports, Morris relied heavily on the Ninth Circuit’s decision which struck down marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada but also tackled head on the question of Baker v. Nelson‘s role in determining whether there exists a constitutional right to marriage, a subject even more in the spotlight now following the Sixth Circuit’s ruling which upheld marriage bans:
Montana, like many states before it, had argued that Baker v. Nelson, a 1972 case about same-sex marriage that the Supreme Court decided not to hear, was controlling and thus the court could not challenge the precedent. Here’s how Morris handled that argument:
“Defendants contend that Plaintiffs’ complaint presents the same issue rejected in Baker: whether a constitutional right to same-sex marriage exists. The Court agrees. Defendants further argue that no sufficient doctrinal developments have occurred to render this issue a substantial federal question. The Court disagrees.”
Morris also took time to opine about how Montana’s same-sex families will benefit from this ruling:
“These families want for their children what all families in Montana want. They want to provide a safe and loving home in which their children have the chance to explore the world in which they live. They want their children to have the chance to discover their place in this world. And they want their children to have the chance to fulfill their highest dreams. These families, like all of us, want their children to adventure into the world without fear of violence; to achieve all that their talent and perseverance allows without fear of discrimination; and to love themselves so that they can love others. No family wants to deprive its precious children of the chance to marry the loves of their lives. Montana no longer can deprive Plaintiffs and other same-sex couples of the chance to marry their loves.”
Read the full decision below:
Montana Same-Sex Marriage Decision by jsnow489
Developing…
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/federal-judge-strikes-down-montanas-ban-on-same-sex-marriage.html
Jason Collins Announces Retirement
Collins, the first openly gay active player in a major men’s pro team sport, is ending his basketball career.
Annie Hollenbeck
editorial.advocate.com/sports/2014/11/19/jason-collins-announces-retirement
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