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Ahead of the 2022 International Transgender Day of Visibility, Thursday, March 31, we spoke with Olivia Hunt of the National Center for Transgender Equality, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.Hunt, who joined the organization last April and became its policy director in February, helped to clarify, for those who may be unaware, what “TDOV” is, and what the LGBTQ community and its allies can do to celebrate the day and lift up the transgender community during these times of, as she calls it, “unprecedented attack.”Excerpts from the interview, edited for clarity, follow. METRO WEEKLY: What is Transgender Day of Visibility?OLIVIA HUNT: Trans people’s lives are usually portrayed in a series of negatives.

Blithe Spirit, is camp and farcical out of the box but the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) has somehow managed to turn the dial a few more notches. Their new mounting of the play, now on at the Sydney Opera House, retains all of the original charm while also feeling fresh, modern and just a little bit cheeky.The main character, Charles Condomine, is a vain and self-indulgent writer.

Phil Connell’s Jump, Darling (★★★☆☆) is perhaps most notable for featuring one of the last performances of Cloris Leachman’s career.The legendary actress, who passed away at the age of 94 in January 2021, offers a quietly profound, poignant look at Margaret, an elderly woman for whom life no longer has a discernible point. Lonely and isolated in her spacious home in Prince Edward, Canada, Margaret is more than ready to leave these corporeal confines for what lies beyond.When her 30-year-old grandson Russell (Thomas Duplessie) arrives on her doorstep, following a breakup with his boyfriend (the narrative’s weakest storyline), she finds temporary reprieve from her pain.Russell, however, has his own agenda, and as loving as he is, he can be curt and dismissive.

Obergefell v. Hodges, which overturned Kentucky’s ban on same-sex marriage, Davis implemented a policy of refusing to issue all marriage licenses.Citing “God’s authority,” she argued that her sincerely held religious beliefs prevent her from issuing licenses bearing her name and title to same-sex couples.But because she did not want to be accused of discriminating only against same-sex couples, she imposed a blanket ban on issuing any marriage licenses as long as her name and title were included on the form.Davis was eventually sued by four couples, both straight and gay, who argued that they were harmed by her refusal to issue marriage licenses.After defying a court order to allow her office to issue marriage licenses, Davis was jailed for five days for “contempt of court” — a development that earned her praise from Republican politicians and made her a celebrity in conservative circles.Davis was later sued by Ermold and Moore, as well as another gay couple, for “mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation and reputation damages,” according to WKYT.After seven years of drawn out legal proceedings, Bunning –- who was the judge that had placed Davis in jail for contempt of court — ruled last week that Davis had violated Ermold and Moore’s constitutional rights when she denied them a marriage license.“It is readily apparent that Obergefell recognizes Plaintiffs’ Fourteenth Amendment right to marry.

Kristen Stewart: Best Actress is always one of the most competitive categories at the Oscars, and this year’s race is set to be a real nail-biter. Early on, it looked like Stewart was a shoo-in for the honor, but then she was left out of many other major ceremonies, only to earn a semi-surprise Academy Award nod.At times, the favor seems to shift to others for a period, and Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Colman, Jessica Chastain and Kristen Stewart have all had a turn as the suggested winner.No one really knows who will receive the trophy, and it’s sure to be one of the most exciting moments of the night.Stewart is nominated for her pitch-perfect performance as Princess Diana in Spencer.

I’m marketed as the oppressed one, but I’m living life on my own terms, I’m not wearing someone else’s uniform.”METRO WEEKLY: How would you introduce yourself to someone unfamiliar with your work, who is meeting you for the first time?ALOK: I would say my name is ALOK and I’m an artist and I’m trying to create a world where we can talk in public about the things that we care the most about and where we learn how to love one another again. I would say that I’m a poet and that doesn’t mean that I just write poetry, it means that I live it.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1.Among the upcoming lineup of nearly three dozen featured events include: The signature Blossom Kite Festival, offering a variety of competitions and demonstrations taking flight from the grounds of the Washington Monument as well as other area parks or virtually (3/26).Cherry Night, a one-night-only celebration of D.C.

Ariana Grande Fans were hoping that Ariana Grande’s Positions would end up a nominee for Album of the Year, but sadly, the title didn’t quite make the cut. Instead, she’s a potential winner as a featured artist on Doja Cat’s Planet Her (Deluxe).

X (★★★☆☆) peers into some kinky, kooky crevices of sex and violence.Set in 1979, and shot and styled to evoke films of the era, from Deep Throat to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, X doesn’t upend, but leans into, the tried-and-true formula of nubile young things fucking and screaming their way to bloody deaths. It ups the ante with a self-aware wit, and a set of eccentric killers we’ve never really seen in the genre.The porno film crew led by producer Wayne (Martin Henderson) and director RJ (Owen Campbell) certainly doesn’t anticipate what’s in store for them at the remote farm compound of grizzled, gun-toting Howard, and his decrepit, white-haired wife Pearl.The porn-makers and their stars — stud Jackson (Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi), girlfriend Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), and Wayne’s girlfriend, Maxine (Mia Goth) — are all admirably focused on making their production, The Farmer’s Daughters, the hottest adult flick of their careers.In fact, their shoot is so steamy, that the film’s timid sound recordist Lorraine (Scream queen Jenna Ortega) feels inspired to join the cast.

Chromatica, which at the time had yet to come out. Fans were thrilled they’d have another chance to see the Grammy and Oscar winner live, as she’s a top-notch performer, but sadly, it was not meant to be.Like so many other musicians, Gaga was forced to postpone her tour as Covid-19 ravaged the planet.

Anthology of New Music: Trans & Nonbinary Voices, Vol. 1 addresses a need felt by many trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming singers and artists. “As a trans nonbinary singer, I often found opera and musical theater compositions to be aggressively gendered and binary,” says the anthology’s curator, Aiden Feltkamp.

By Dr Clifford Lewis and Kevin MarkwellIn 1985, calls for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to be cancelled in response to concerns about HIV/AIDS were successfully countered by the organisers. The parade is now recognised as an important way of creating awareness of safe-sex practices, reducing the social stigma of HIV/AIDS and being a living memorial to those who died from it. In 2020, like many other major events, the Mardi Gras parade became a victim of another virus: COVID-19.

She Loves Me (★★★★☆) is but one of many pleasures to behold in director Matthew Gardiner’s sprightly, delightful trip to that fabled shop around the corner.Miklós László’s 1937 play Parfumerie first established the venerable love story between contentious Hungarian shop clerks Georg and Amalia, spinning a romantic confection so sweet, it’s been revived, adapted, and reinvented in forms from film to this beloved musical-comedy, originally produced on Broadway in 1963.The snappy book by Joe Masteroff has held up well, and, while the waltzing score, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, can seem a tad old-fashioned, the songs shine like gems when placed in their most advantageous setting.Gardiner and company have done plenty to create that proper atmosphere, starting with Lee Savage’s set, which opens like a music box to reveal the pristine, pastel-pretty shop floor of Maraczek’s Parfumerie.Reconfiguring like some happy-go-lucky Transformer around a centerstage turntable, the set impresses while offering Gardiner and choreographer Kelly Crandall D’Amboise myriad opportunities to keep the actors and decor moving in amusing directions.Adam Honoré’s lighting design doesn’t always add as helpfully to the scenery, but contributes beautifully to standout numbers like “A Romantic Atmosphere” and “Dear Friend.” It’s the performances, though, that light up every scene.Ali Ewoldt’s demure yet daring Amalia Balash bubbles with charm and nervous energy, unaware she’s engaged in a pen-pal romance with the one man she leasts gets along with in real life, fellow parfumerie clerk Georg Nowack, played a hint too gruffly by Deven Kolluri.The pair sing wonderfully, solo and in tandem, but the show’s most successful duet

Outsports.com, Chris chose to keep his identity anonymous “out of fear of online attacks from fans of the players or teams.”Chris was able to find 78 homophobic tweets from 40 players throughout the league — a full 32 of the players remain active, according to Outsports.com.The tweets run the gauntlet in terms of how explicitly homophobic they are. Some are as tame — and absurd — as Center for the Atlanta Hawks Clint Capela saying “no homo” after wishing a friend luck, while others feature explicitly homophobic slurs directed as insults.The majority of tweets were sent between 2009 and 2013, at a time when many of the players were still very young (some even still teenagers in high school), and attitudes around LGBTQ issues vastly different from now.But openly gay basketball player Derrick Gordon, who plays professionally in Germany, told Outsports.com that such statements shouldn’t be tolerated no matter when they were posted.“I don’t care how long ago it was, it shows the person’s character,” Gordon said.

Empire star guilty on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for making fraudulent reports to police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic assault in January of 2019. The 39-year-old Smollet was accused of staging the hate crime and charged, though he continued to plead his innocence throughout the trial.Speaking for more than 30 minutes before announcing Smollett’s sentence, Cook County Judge James Linn noted that the actor’s premeditation for the act was an “aggravating factor” in the case.“There’s a side of you that has this arrogance, and selfishness and narcissism that’s just disgraceful,” said Linn.

Stephen King once said, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again,” and while he wasn’t talking about Madonna’s hit singles at the time, his statement applies perfectly now.The legendary pop singer is back with a new song… well, an old song, but one that she’s made feel new again. Late on Thursday, March 3, Madonna released an updated take on her single “Frozen,” only this time around there are three artists credited on the tune.The smash is now labeled as a collaboration between the Grammy winner, electronic remixer Sickick and Nigerian singer Fireboy DML.

Dolly Parton has held onto her status as one of the most celebrated, beloved, and successful musicians in the world since she broke onto the country scene back in the late ’60s. In the decades that have passed, she has proven that she has a talent unlike anything seen (or heard) before, and while many stars would be relaxing by the time they hit her age (she just turned 76), Parton shows no signs of slowing down.In fact, Patron is ramping up her output, and while 2022 just started, it is already one of her biggest years in recent memory when it comes to career achievements and important releases.

The year 2022 is only just beginning, but already it’s been a tough one for Dua Lipa. The pop singer has just been hit with her second lawsuit in as many weeks, with both claiming she stole melodies from other songs to create one of her most popular singles.This time around, songwriters L.

Out American basketball player, Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star was arrested in Moscow last month. There were fears that Russia, which faces sanctions for invading Ukraine last month, could use Griner as a hostage. The Russian Federal Customs Service have released this video in which airport security are seen going through the luggage of a passenger identified as Brittney Griner.

Yesterday, LGBTQI communities and their friends celebrated the 44th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in a supernova of glitter, glitz, and glam.Performers included singer-songwriter Darren Hayes, Vanessa Amorosi, The Wiggles, and Timothy Springs.Darren Hayes, former member of bestselling Australian pop duo Savage Garden, performed The Animal Song, Affirmation, and Do You Remember, and the crowd was ecstatic.Matt Akersten, Pride and Diversity Officer for Sydney WorldPride 2023, tweeted, “What a night! How’s how the 2022 [Sydney Mardi Gras] Parade ended, a dazzling show with [Darren Hayes]”What a night! How’s how the 2022 @sydneymardigras Parade ended, a dazzling show with @darrenhayes!

Tiger King. Like any set of bitter enemies, their feud is fueled as much by the things they have in common, as it is inflamed by their implacable differences.Memorably documented in Tiger King, and now gleefully depicted in Peacock’s appropriately strange new comedy series Joe vs.

Jesus Christ Superstar took shape as a landmark album.Released in 1970 to resounding success, that recording captivated audiences worldwide, spawning the original Tony-nominated production, the cult classic 1973 film, and countless concerts, adaptations, and revivals — including, nearly 50 years later, director Timothy Sheader’s acclaimed London production staged by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.Now, Sheader and choreographer Drew McOnie’s driving, modern-dress iteration is repping the musical’s 50th anniversary on a North American tour, currently anointing the Kennedy Center Opera House with dulcet voices and shredding guitars.Performed by a youthful cast wielding microphones and playing instruments, supported by a stellar orchestra stacked behind them on scaffolding, the show strikes an agreeable balance between concert and theater.“Our production is based off the original concept album,” says Paul Louis Lessard, whose gold-lamé-frocked King Herod is an impish delight in the show, challenging Jesus to prove himself the miraculous Christ. “The idea was, if you put on the record at the beginning of our show and pressed play, what you experience with our production is what it would be like to listen to that record all the way through without stopping.”Because the production’s focus is honoring Webber and Rice’s score, Lessard adds, “our creative team was very encouraging about every performer bringing themself to the role, and making the music the priority of the show and this interpretation.

The world is watching in horror as Russia invades Ukraine, with one of the largest armies on the planet killing innocent citizens and destroying countless buildings and homes with each passing day. While governments impose financial sanctions aimed at hurting the aggressor’s leader and its wealthy ruling class, many ordinary people feel hopeless.Now, a Russian musician known around the globe for political activism has utilized her platform and popularity to raise millions for the Ukrainian defense — and she did so using a sexy new technology that ensures the money is going where it’s needed without delay.Nadya Tolokonnikova, one of the members of Russian rock band Pussy Riot, set up an organization named UkraineDAO in order to sell an NFT for a good cause.The digital-only artwork sold for a whopping $6.7 million, and all the proceeds are going to Come Back Alive, a non-profit that was founded in 2014 and that calls itself “the largest foundation providing support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”In just three days, as many as 3,200 individual donors spent digital cryptocurrency to own some of the NFT, which was nothing more than an image of the Ukrainian flag.

This Saturday, March 5, the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the second year in a row.  In order to attend, visitors will have to pay for a ticket, which has raised equity concerns among members of Sydney’s LGBTQI Communities. The Parade was free to attend when it was held along  Oxford Street in Darlinghurst. Wei Thai-Haynes, a member of the SGLMG Board and activist group Pride in Protest, told Star Observer that “Mardi Gras should be free and accessible to all those who wish to attend.

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist and Home Movies, was getting ready to pitch a new project to the networks about a family of cannibals who ran a burger joint. Intrigued by Wingate’s call, he complied.“I watched [The Christmas Tree] that night when I was in New York — I was staying in a little hotel,” the creator and fabled showrunner of Bob’s Burgers recalls.

March 5,  Sydney Cricket Ground at 6pmIn his first live performance in Australia for a decade, singer-songwriter Darren Hayes returns home to head up a superstar line-up for the 2022 Mardi Gras Parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday 5 March 2022. Fresh off the back of the release of his new track ‘Let’s Try Being In Love’, Hayes’ Mardi Gras performance will mark his 20th year as a solo recording artist, as well the 25th anniversary of Savage Garden’s acclaimed debut, self-titled album.The Parade will also feature a special performance from Australian music legend Vanessa Amorosi, presented by Principal Partner, American Express.

Jump, Darling, starring a fabulous Cloris Leachman in one of her final film roles, to the sexy-cute 2018 Dutch rom-com Just Friends, and now Jared Frieder’s so-so new dramedy Three Months (★★☆☆☆).Besides exploring and/or exploiting that cross-generational conduit of support and affection, Three Months, like Darling, offers a seemingly juicy role to an Oscar-winning screen legend. In this case, Ellen Burstyn lends a touch of gravitas portraying loving grandma Valerie to gay south Florida high schooler Caleb, played with deadpan snark and sometimes seething anger by pop star Troye Sivan.Caleb’s open and honest relationship with Val is just one of the pillars of support he leans on during the crisis hinted at in the film’s title.

www.walkerforcolorado.com.“In 29 states, basic freedoms are missing for millions of LGBTQ+ Americans.” The words are punctuated, in HRC’s new ad “Reality Flag,” by the unfurling of a redesigned American flag conspicuously missing 29 stars.The ad was created by Joey Soloway, the Emmy-winning showrunner of Transparent, and the campaign is designed to urge the passage of the Equality Act.

CAPITAL IRISH FILM FESTIVALSolas Nua, the D.C.-based organization dedicated to presenting contemporary Irish arts, readies its annual showcase of films from Ireland the first weekend of March. Co-presented by the AFI Silver Theatre, this year’s festival inaugurates the Norman Houston Short Film Award, named in memory of a former director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in the U.S.

“There was a lot of genuineness in our show, a chemistry that was unmistakable and real,” says Barry Williams. “We had these soft messages to share with our audiences. And I think they stuck.”Williams is talking about his years as Greg, the eldest of the Brady siblings on the classic sitcom, The Brady Bunch, which ran for five seasons on ABC, from 1969 to 1975.

engaged in oral sex with a 16-year-old male in South Florida.Parson, 53, has been charged with two felony counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison for each charge.Under Florida law, the age of consent is 18 years old.

The Power of the Dog barked the loudest, receiving 9 nods, the most of any other nominee, including nominations for best film, LGBTQ film, director, and acting for Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.The 1920s-set racial drama Passing, unceremoniously snubbed by the Oscars, the animated refugee documentary Flee, and Steven Spielberg’s dazzling remake of West Side Story snagged 5 nominations apiece.Netflix scored 23 nominations overall, Neon took 18, and Disney/20th Century Studios films received a total of nine.Formed in 2009, GALECA is comprised of over 350 journalists and critics covering film and TV accessible in the U.S. (two of its members include Metro Weekly‘s senior film and theater critic André Hereford and editor and longtime Washington, D.C.

“I think it’s the fun, the camaraderie, and what we’re doing for the community, and being part of that community spirit,” says O’Riordan.Volunteers have varying qualifications: consultants, interns, registrars, specialist and enrolled nurses, paramedics, first aiders, and occasionally, physiotherapists and social workers.They all require first aid training at a minimum, but there are other less tangible requisites.“Can you chat with someone, can you socially engage with someone? Can you have fun on the night? Those other skills are vitally important,” says O’Riordan.“I remember using all my first aid equipment to put stilettos back on for one of the drag queens,” laughs O’Riordan.Another time, someone was coming out for the first time and was completely overwhelmed.“Nothing wrong with them medically. They just needed a hug.”Every year, after the parade and party, Mardi Gras gathers feedback on the types of injuries treated by medical volunteers.

An amendment added to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay Bill” will require schools to out LGBT students to their parents. The amendment to Florida House Bill 1557, filed by the Bill’s co-sponsor Representative Joe Harding (R) last Friday, would require schools to out sexually and gender diverse students to their parents within 6 weeks of discovery. The original bill still required disclosure but had an exemption if the disclosure could lead to “abuse, neglect or abandonment.” This exemption was removed in the current amendment. Florida Agriculture Commissioner and Candidate for Governor, Nikki Fried (D), tweeted, “This backwards cruelty must stop. Speak out against targeted hate legislation and support those leading the charge to protect civil rights like [Equality Florida] before it’s too late!”This backwards cruelty must stop.

posted to YouTube, shows school principal Bipul Singh popping 10 multicolored balloons that had been delivered to the school with a note addressed to him and to Vice Principal Sandra Scott.Singh is seen reading the note, which mentions that the balloons were delivered “in support of of a student who created LGBTQ artwork in class,” writes the Athens Banner-Herald. He then pops the balloons before tossing the entire package in the trash.Singh and Scott reportedly forced a classroom teacher to take down a student’s “Gay is OK” drawing, featuring an umbrella against the backdrop of a rainbow Pride flag, after another parent complained about its inclusion in a classroom artwork display.The teacher initially resisted taking down the artwork on the grounds that it was unfair to censor this particular student’s brand of speech, but Singh and Scott allegedly told the teacher to take it down.

METRO WEEKLY: Let’s talk about your earliest years and what your family was like as a child.MELANIE WILLINGHAM-JAGGERS: I was raised by a single mother. She was single by choice, and a mother by choice. There’s some complexity here, because I actually come from a really big extended family.