metroweekly.com Celebs Rumors

“I felt that exploring a story about teenage issues through the horror prism was going to work well for us,” says Don Mancini of the success of his series Chucky. “Teenagers experience their emotions in a very stylized way.

Supreme Court decision finding that the Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ workers from workplace discrimination, and that instances of anti-LGBTQ discrimination are inherently a form of sex-based discrimination.The revised Title IX rules also restore some protections for students who make sexual assault allegations against other students, offering them alternatives to Trump-era policies that required live hearings in which students could cross-examine each other when an accusation was contested.Democrats, including some LGBTQ advocates, had long criticized the Trump-era policies, arguing they were overly deferential to students accused of sexual violence.The new rules also expand the types of harassment complaints that schools are required to investigate, asserting that schools must address any unwelcome sex-based conduct that is so “severe or pervasive” that it limits a student’s equal access to an education, but do not completely roll back provisions instituted under former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos intended to bolster accused students’ due process rights.“These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a call with reporters on Thursday.Regarding the explicit LGBTQ protections, Caronda added, “No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love.

Maulik Pancholy at a local middle school’s anti-bullying assembly due to concerns over his “lifestyle.”The Cumberland Valley School District school board voted unanimously to cancel the gay actor’s scheduled May 22 appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, a town of 9,000 people in the state’s center, just 10 miles outside Harrisburg.Pancholy, who played Jonathan on the hit TV show 30 Rock, Sanjay in Weeds, and voiced the character of Baljeet for Disney’s Phineas & Ferb, is also an author of novels for young adults, including The Best at It, the story of a gay Indian-American boy and his experience dealing with bullying in a small Midwestern town, and Nikhil Out Loud, about a group of eighth-grade theater kids rising up against homophobia in their community.The conservative school board balked at the idea that Pancholy might address the middle schoolers and bring up topics like homosexuality or politically-tinged issues, which could violate a district policy prohibiting “political” events.“He labels himself as an activist who is proud of his lifestyle, and I don’t think that should be imposed on our students,” School Board Member Bud Shaffner said at an evening meeting on April 15.Kelly Potteiger, a newly-elected board member who is also a member of the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ group Moms for Liberty, fretted that Pancholy might mention his books, which deal with anti-LGBTQ bullying themes, or his own experience with bullying, potentially even advocating for ideas like “empathy and inclusion” — which right-wingers typically deem as contrary to conservative values.“[I]t’s not discriminating against his lifestyle, that’s his choice, but it’s him speaking about it,” Potteiger sad.

Look Into It with Eddie Bravo podcast in February, the NFL quarterback suggested that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical advisor to the president of the United States, and the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had played a key role in the creating AIDS epidemic, which served as the “blueprint” for the COVID-19 pandemic.Video clips of the interview largely went unreported and didn’t create much controversy until they were re-shared and widely circulated on social media this week.

Time Magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential People of 2024,” marking a significant honor for the head of the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights organization.Writing for the magazine, Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD, praises Robinson, the first Black queer woman to lead HRC in its history, as having “a vision for a more equal and just world that, paired with her talent for building coalitions across all intersections, has taken the LGBTQ+ movement — and the larger social-­justice movement — by storm when it is most needed.”Noting that Robinson is leading HRC at a time when state legislatures are passing an onslaught of bills focused on restricting LGBTQ rights and visibility, Ellis credits Robinson for spearheading campaigns that uplift and center the needs of historically marginalized communities, including queer people of color and transgender people.“Kelley has a voice that demands to be heard,” Ellis writes. “Whether it’s in front of Congress, at a political rally, or over social media, she inspires and mobilizes longtime advocates and new young activists into action with fresh energy and urgency.“She has also brought the LGBTQ+ movement to recognize the critical intersectional work needed on gun reform, racial justice, immigration, voting rights, climate, abortion, and safeguarding our very democracy.

Axios in an exclusive interview that the location-based queer dating app is currently testing “Roam,” a feature that allows users to temporarily place their profile in a location ahead of a trip. That way, they can chat with locals to arrange potential meet-ups or crowdsource places to eat, shop, or sightsee.“Roam” appears to be similar to “Venture,” a feature that has existed for years on Scruff, another queer dating app.“For decades, the global LGBTQ+ community has physically connected in cities around the world, creating hubs, or Gayborhoods, for local gay, bi, trans, and queer people to freely express themselves, enjoy a sense of safety and intimacy, and foster community through spaces created specifically for us,” Arison wrote in a post for Grindr’s blog on April 16.“However, not all of us are able to access a physical Gayborhood,” he noted.

A transgender-led national nonprofit, The Gender Research Advisory Council & Education (GRACE), has launched its first commercial seeking to change the minds of politically right-of-center Americans to support transgender rights.The sixty-second ad, “Dads,” features an interview with Eric Childs, an Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veteran from rural South Carolina, who is the father of four children — including a transgender teenager. In the ad, Childs expresses how much he loves and supports his 15-year-old son –- whose name is not being published to avoid harassment and threats.

“We lost over 500 people in D.C. last year to overdoses, both people who are intentionally using opioids and people whose drugs are laced with opioids who don’t know it,” says Alexandra Bradley, the outreach and community engagement manager for the D.C.-based harm reduction organization HIPS, Inc., which serves communities impacted by sex work and substance abuse.“We’ve seen fentanyl show up in cocaine and methamphetamine and other drugs, which are stimulants,” notes Bradley.

Metro Weekly cover, and he ensures that a conversation with him feels familiar, like time spent with a best friend. Talking with him is also somewhat of a unique event — spirited, unbridled, utterly free of artifice. He is warm.

“We lost over 500 people in D.C. last year to overdoses, both people who are intentionally using opioids and people whose drugs are laced with opioids who don’t know it,” says Alexandra Bradley, the outreach and community engagement manager for the D.C.-based harm reduction organization HIPS, Inc., which serves communities impacted by sex work and substance abuse.“We’ve seen fentanyl show up in cocaine and methamphetamine and other drugs, which are stimulants,” notes Bradley.

The Nance, directed by Nick Olcott.With careful discretion, Chauncey arranges an assignation for later with the younger man, Ned, a whippersnapper fresh from Buffalo played with aw-shucks joie de vivre by Patrick Joy.While an opening scene set at the Irving Place Theatre establishes Douglas Carter Beane’s well-plotted comedy-drama within the world of 1930s burlesque, the automat scene succinctly, incisively characterizes Chauncey and his compromised existence as a practicing homosexual at a time and place where that could easily get you arrested.It’s also a time when he might happen to get arrested for doing his job as a burlesque performer who specializes in a pansy act, camping it up onstage as the flamboyantly gay stock character known as “the nance.”The play — a winner of three Tonys in its original Broadway production starring Nathan Lane — finds Chauncey and his fellow artists of the burlesque revue at the Irving Place squarely in the sights of city authorities cracking down on these risqué cabaret showcases for ecdysiasts and vaudeville comedians.There’s a great montage in Singin’ in the Rain during the “Broadway Melody Ballet,” showing the rise of Gene Kelly’s Don Lockwood from burlesque hoofer to vaudeville showman to Broadway headliner. The quality of refinement in Don’s costumes, choreography, and chorus girls steadily sparkles brighter, along with Don’s million-dollar smile as he ascends to the top.The denizens of The Nance dwell near the bottom of that stairway to paradise, on the seedier side of Manhattan.

For a while now, voices in the mist who’ve had an early peek at Alex Garland’s dystopian thriller Civil War have warned the film might be irresponsible or too incendiary in its brutal depiction of a United States divided and engulfed in war. In the dire future presented in the film, Americans confront each other in military combat within their own cities, on their own doorsteps.Starring Kirsten Dunst as intrepid war photographer Lee Smith, leading a ragtag crew of journalists into combat zones to capture the harrowing stories and images, the movie certainly does not play shy about showing intense, bloody warfare.

freestdcheck.org and a photo of the Empire Polo Club, site of Coachella festival, which takes place annually over two separate weekends, with the first three days of musical acts starting on April 12. The festival is expected to draw about 125,000 revelers.

longstanding relationship with the Log Cabin Republicans, which endorsed her husband’s 2020 bid and whose leaders have been among the former president’s most stalwart defenders.In 2021, the former First Lady was a special guest at a dinner the organization hosted at Mar-a-Lago, where she received the group’s “Spirit of Lincoln Award,” given to individuals considered strong allies of the LGB community. Melania has been largely absent from public view while her husband seeks a second term in office.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act” passed on a party-line vote in Iowa’s GOP-led Legislature, with all Republican lawmakers voting in favor of it.Reynolds signed the measure at a private event hosted by The Family Leader, a conservative Christian organization opposed to LGBTQ rights. She also sought to justify her actions by claiming those with conservative religious beliefs are a persecuted group.

Love ran deep last night between Bad Bunny and his fans, who filled the Capital One Arena from the floor up to the championship banners. The crowd’s passion for the artist and his music was punctuated with the roar of recognition that greeted the first notes of every single song.Deafening screams greeted Bad Bunny, too, as he made his entrance rising from beneath the stage to a live orchestra playing the Bond-style overture of “Nadie Sabe,” the opening track on the rapper-singer’s latest LP, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (No one knows what will happen tomorrow).His “Most Wanted Tour,” which supports the album, is about midway through its trek across North America.

Commentary magazine is testament. During the Donald Trump administration, the guest of honor was former senator Joe Lieberman. The best line, however, was aimed at one of Lieberman’s senatorial siblings, in that period of Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s raft of Supreme Court nominations.“We have Lindsey Graham here tonight,” Modi noted to his bejeweled and buttoned-up audience.

Metro Weekly they could not comment on the specifics of the plea deal.

regardless if her comments may offend some people — was asked about her position on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.The question came from Dan Zaksheske, a reporter for OutKick, a website with a strong conservative viewpoint that markets itself as an “everyman” alternative to mainstream sports news outlets.“You just talked about what a massive weekend this is for women’s basketball, women’s sports in general,” Zaksheske said. “One of the major issues facing women’s sports now is the debate/discussion/topic about transgender athletes, biological men in women’s sports. I was wondering if you could tell me your position on that issue.”“Damn, you got deep on me, didn’t you?” Staley responded after taking a long sip of water.

Miami Herald that “[p]reparations for a suit in federal court are well underway.”“My civil liberties are not up for debate,” he said of his intention to not only sue Miami Beach Gay Pride, but the city of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County, which are co-sponsoring the Pride parade.Kent Harrison Robbins, an attorney for Basabe, wrote to Horwich warning him that excluding Basabe from participating in the parade “would be willfully, knowingly, and intentionally abridging his First Amendment right to free speech and to peaceably assembly on a public street.”“Legal precedents from the federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have ruled that a concern that there may be physical opposition to [Basabe] is not a legal justification for violating his speech and assembly rights,” Robbins wrote in the letter. “Basabe must be allowed to participate in The Pride Parade and he must be notified immediately through my offices that he will be allowed to do so without any impediments.”Robbins argued that because city and county jurisdictions are among the sponsors of the parade, it doesn’t constitute a private event that would allow for Basabe’s exclusion.

here.Subscribe to our newsletter and magazine here.

separate court case.However, since 2022, the Pentagon has stopped discharging active-duty service members due to their HIV status.That year, a Virginia federal judge ruled that the military could not discharge, refuse to commission, or categorically bar people with HIV from deploying, especially if they are asymptomatic and virally suppressed — making it highly unlikely that they can pass the virus to others.Additionally, in 2022, Davidson County voters approved an amendment to Metro Nashville’s charter removing the requirement that police recruits abide by military fitness standards, instead allowing the Civil Service Commission to set its own requirements. Subsequently, in 2023, Doe, enlisting the help of Lambda Legal, sued the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, arguing that the Metro Nashville Police Department’s policies were not only discriminatory but violated federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.As part of the settlement, the Metro Nashville government not only must provide Doe with monetary relief, but agrees to update and rewrite the city’s Civil Service Medical Examiner’s policies to make clear that people living with HIV are no longer categorically banned from serving as first responders or police officers.“I feel vindicated,” Doe said following the settlement.

Mediazona. The club, which opened in 2021, regularly hosted drag parties.

This is a developing story.Sign up for our newsletter for the latest information.

Lake McHenry County Scanner.Perteet, a Waukegan resident who is married and has four children, has been charged with three counts of armed robbery and kidnapping with a firearm, plus one count of carjacking, for his alleged involvement in three separate attacks against men on Chicago’s West Side last summer.According to a news release from the Chicago Police Department, Perteet was arrested by members of the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force on March 26 in the 3000 block of South Sacramento Ave., in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. He was identified by victims as the man who allegedly held them against their will and robbed them at gunpoint.The three victims included:All three crimes took place in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood.Prosecutors claim that Perteet used Grindr to track down the victims and obtain their addresses under the guise of arranging a hookup.

infamously did with an epithet before a key game against Notre Dame — appeared to be wearing pink nail polish and had shiny lips, leading them to claim that he was wearing pink lip gloss or lipstick.The NCAA Division I women’s basketball X account shared the video of Williams, who reposted it, writing, “Vibes onlyyyyy supporting our girls.” Vibes onlyyyyy supporting our girls https://t.co/MBULWWdubT— Caleb Williams (@CALEBcsw) March 26, 2024Anti-LGBTQ trolls immediately began feigning outrage over his look, accusing him of being gay, gender-nonconforming, and pushing a social agenda. Others were angered over his visibility, arguing that it was not acceptable to appear to wear pink, a color stereotypically associated with women and that doing so was “gross.”“OMG, the Chicago Bears are finally in a position to draft a franchise quarterback, and Caleb Williams is a Dylan Mulvaney wannabe.

American Idol star dropped “Hell Together” last week after teasing new music was coming. The track is a gospel-tinged affair, a nod to his past and the story he tells in the song. “Hell Together” is powerful and meaningful – qualities that are not always guaranteed when it comes to pop music.

Al Jazeera.If the bill surmounts those obstacles, Thailand would become the third Asian country to legalize same-sex nuptials, following Taiwan and Nepal.The bill changes references in current law from gender-specific terms like “man,” “woman,” husband,” and “wife” to gender-neutral terms. It grants surviving partners inheritance rights in the case of one partner’s death and allows same-sex couples the right to adopt.“I want to invite you all to make history,” Danuphorn Punnakanta, the chairman of the parliamentary committee, said ahead of the vote.

temporary injunction blocking Paxton’s office from demanding the information, writing that “immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to PFLAG and its members” if Paxton’s office is able to obtain information about the group’s members, which number close to 600 in Texas alone. Under the terms of the restraining order, Paxton’s office may not attempt to stop PFLAG from operating for refusing to hand over documents and identifying information about its members, especially those who may have reached out to the national pro-LGBTQ advocacy group to determine how to seek gender-affirming care out of state.Paxton’s office may also not demand information from PFLAG revealing the identities of its members, officers, employees, lawyers, volunteers, or donors.Paxton’s office claimed their demand for PFLAG documents, issued in early February, was part of an effort to investigate whether medical providers were violating Texas’s law banning them from prescribing gender-affirming treatments like puberty blockers and hormones to minors.PFLAG filed a lawsuit last month asking for a temporary restraining order and relief to protect the identities and privacy of its members.

golf-cart chariot to carry him less than a half-mile as his powerful peers walked that short Sicilian stroll. Meanwhile, Biden rides a bike for pleasure. (Yes, we all know he’s fallen off his bike.

Barbenheimer. Barbie, listed in our 2023 spring movie preview, and Oppenheimer, which was not, had yet to assert their primacy over the year’s box office and pop culture conversation.Few conceived those two films would spark a phenomenon that rippled through media, fashion, merchandising, music, and awards show after awards show after awards show.After all the hype and hot takes, red carpet looks, historic victories and milestones, the Barbenheimer convo only really finally abated with the Oscar wins that shuffled Barbie, Ken, and Oppy off the stage in March, ushering cinema into the spring/summer season.Now, new cinematic fascinations await, new soundtracks of the summer, your next new favorite character or performance, some star-making smash that’ll keep the world talking until 2025.

Oh, Mary!, Escola’s hit play which marketing materials tout “finally examines the forgotten life and dreams of Mrs. Lincoln through the lens of an idiot.Although they may not be immediately recognizable, Escola appeared on the TV shows Difficult People, At Home with Amy Sedaris, and Search Party.

Macbeth starring Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma. But, let’s be honest, all of our area theatres have showstoppers up their sleeves…Signature lets its hair down. Baltimore Center Stage serves up some fiery wings.

Hamlet.She pulls it off with great intelligence and careful precision in a two-and-a-half-hour production that whizzes by faster than a perceived phantom. From the troubled Danish prince to the forlorn Ophelia and even a cockney gravedigger, Izzard tackles 23 characters with sophisticated panache and effortless flair.Izzard, who has had an impressive career in London and New York, both onstage and in film, and as an actor and stand-up comedian, admitted to ABC News that she is not the most likely person for a solo Hamlet, but has decided to return to her first love, drama.In the same interview, it was revealed that Izzard ran 32 marathons in 31 days on a treadmill during lockdown.

202-399-7993www.atlasarts.orgFredgren Studio Theatre 3443 Carlin Springs Rd. Falls Church, Va. 703-778-3008www.balletnova.org10534 York Road Cockeysville, Md. 410-667-7974www.baltimoreballet.com45 West Preston St. Baltimore, Md. 410-752-8558www.theatreproject.org202-499-2297www.chamberdance.org301-581-5204www.citydance.netDance Theatre University of Maryland College Park, Md. 301-405-ARTSwww.theclarice.umd.eduwww.dtsbdc.org3225 8th St. NE 202-269-1600www.danceplace.org4618 14th St.

WDJT-TV.In the spring of 2019, Kalumbula allegedly locked the child in a dark room for more than an hour, and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about it. While the harassment did not continue while schools were closed for in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2021, just a month before schools reopened, Kalumbula was named acting principal.Shortly after returning to school, the gay couple’s son was — once again — bullied by other students for having gay parents.