ticker: Celebs Rumors

RuPaul’s Drag Race that tours throughout the country.Although the show required people under the age of 18 to be accompanied by an adult in order to attend, the DeSantis administration has sought to use its influence — including its control over the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees business licensing — to crack down on any aspect of “woke” or LGBTQ culture, including drag shows.Opposition to drag shows is largely based on the premise that they are harmful to children, because they expose youth to demonstrations of gender nonconformity or sexually-tinged content, which may inspire children to emulate that behavior in their personal lives.In an administrative complaint, the DBPR accused the Hyatt Regency Miami of several violations of law, citing a heretofore rarely-enforced prohibition on “lascivious exhibition” in front of people younger than 16.According to the department, “A Drag Queen Christmas” featured performers “wearing sexually suggesting (sic) clothing and prosthetic female genitalia,” as well as simulating masturbation.The DBPR had previously balked at the way that “A Drag Queen Christmas” was marketed as an “all ages” event when tickets were being sold, and warned the Hyatt to prohibit minors from attending the show, or risk various penalties, including the loss of their liquor license, according to the right-wing outlet Florida Voice.Organizers subsequently updated their advertising with a warning that the show contained “adult content” and was recommended only for those over 18 years of age.Because some parents are believed to have allowed their children under the age of 18 to attend the show, the DBPR is following through on its threat to revoke the hotel’s liquor license.

not gay.” He later clarified by stating, “There are a couple of guys…I could date, life partner-wise.”He was referring to the men who pop up on Instagram, as the platform serves him images and accounts it believes he might be interested in based on past views and likes. He mentioned that the ones that really get him going are the “woodchopping” ones.

joked about President Joe Biden, several Republicans expected to run for president in 2024, and even made blistering comments about his former boss, former President Donald Trump.Pence then trained his sights on his fellow Hoosier, quipping that if Biden doesn’t run for re-election, there’s “Pete Buttigieg, who’s an old friend of mine.”Buttigieg, who previously served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, when Pence was governor of the state, has previously attacked Pence’s alleged homophobia and his support for a since-amended “religious freedom” law that critics said, in its original version, would have allowed blatant discrimination against LGBTQ people.“When Pete’s two children were born,” Pence continued, “he took two months’ maternity leave, where upon thousands of travelers were stranded in airports, the air traffic system shut down, airplanes nearly collided in midair.“I mean, Pete Buttigieg is the only person in human history to have a child and all the rest of us get postpartum depression.”Buttigieg took two months of paternity leave shortly after adopting twins with his husband, Chasten, in September 2021, prompting right-wing pundits to criticize him for doing so.The White House did not take kindly to the joke, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre taking aim at Pence in a statement.“The former vice president’s homophobic joke about Secretary Buttigieg was offensive and inappropriate, all the more so because he treated women suffering from postpartum depression as a punchline,” Jean-Pierre said.

Awakening is a driving, primal, and rhythmic work for 12 dancers set to a score by composer John Mackey. Double Octet by Doug Varone takes audiences on a kinesthetic journey of sweeping and swirling motion [and features 17 Mason dance students].“Manuel Vignoulle’s Black and White is a very personal duet inspired by the differences two individuals bring to a relationship, including gender, culture, background, and energy.

#Oscars. pic.twitter.com/4w4MNCO89X— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 13, 2023This isn’t the first time Gaga has gone out of her way to help someone who needed it at an award show.At the Grammys last year, she was spotted getting down on the floor to assist SZA with her dress as she made her way onstage to accept her Grammy.SZA, who was using crutches, was grateful for Gaga’s help, as she was having a tough time managing it all.

Pride Plates Act of 2023, introduced by Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large) would instruct the DMV to create LGBTQ-themed license plates that people could purchase, with proceeds benefiting the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs typically provides programming, grants, and other resources to the local LGBTQ community. Under the legislation, a fund would be created to stockpile money obtained through, donations, or specialty license plate fees from the District, and any money appropriated in the fund but not spent in a particular year will be continue to be available in subsequent months and years. The District already makes several specialty plates supporting various causes, such as plates supporting the cleanup and protection of the Anacostia River watershed, D.C.’s military veteran community, and even local sports team, according to WTOP. According to White’s office, the District’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment held a hearing, and the Committee on Government Operations held a mark-up on a nearly identical bill last year.Once the bill passes, the DMV would be tasked with designing the template for the plates, although White is hopeful that the agency will consult with local LGBTQ advocates, including the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, to ensure the plates are inclusive and up-to-date.White hopes that D.C.

meeting up with a 16-year-old on the Growlr dating app.According to a memo from the Broward County State Attorney’s Office explaining its decision, the teen’s parents wanted to pursue charges against Parson but did not want to subject their son to be questioned on the stand and were reticent to allow prosecutors to speak with him to help determine the facts of the case.Assistant State Attorney Danielle Lennox, of the office’s sexual battery and child abuse unit, wrote in the memo that a victim advocate from the office had begun reaching out to the family after the charges against Parson were filed.In a May 2022 phone conference with the victim’s parents, Lennox explained what the process of pursuing prosecution would entail, but they were reticent to have their son speak with her.Lennox agreed to give them time to think and scheduled a follow-up meeting with the parents to arrange an in-person interview with the teen, but was unable to reach the family.

KRIV that he and some friends were attending an LGBTQ-themed event featuring drag performances on the night in question.Houston-Pickett claims he and his friends were told they’d have to wait before leaving the club.While in that holding pattern, he grabbed a bottle of alcohol from the bar and jokingly said he needed a drink for the wait. He then put the bottle down and never took a drink from it.A short while later, however, a large, well-built man who appeared to be working security at the bar approached him.“I saw an African American male…really buff with long hair coming at me with two other guys,” Houston-Pickett told KRIV.

Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the 2023 Oscars, snagging seven of the 11 trophies it was nominated for – and it could only win 10 total, as two actresses were up against one another, so it’s a pretty great result for one of the most-talked-about films of the year.Much of the attention last night and today is focused on the history made and the speeches given from actors and The Daniels, but Gay Twitter (and beyond) also found time to fall head over heels in love with Paul Rogers, the man who took home the Best Editing Oscar for his work on the sci-fi giant.Rogers was the favorite to win for his excellent work on the movie, and it was only after he got on stage that countless viewers took to social media to share their shock at his good looks, as well as some pretty thirsty comments.While Rogers now has an amazing editing career ahead of him – he did win an Oscar for his second-ever film – he may also soon embrace his status as a new Hollywood heartthrob.me seeing everything everywhere editor paul rogers for the first time #Oscars pic.twitter.com/gz3GWqTRdX— Emmy Griffiths (@emmyfg) March 13, 2023Paul Rogers if you’re reading this I am free Thursday night & if you would like to hang out & Thursday night is when I am free to hang out so just to let you know I am free to hang out Thursday night so if you want to hang out on Thursday night I am free to hang out

Everything Everywhere All at Once dominating pretty much every category.Here’s a look at the history made at the 2023 Academy Awards.Michelle YeohMichelle Yeoh made history at the Oscars by becoming the first Asian woman to win Best Actress. Her outstanding performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once earned her the coveted award in one of the most competitive categories.Overwhelmed with emotion, Yeoh tearfully dedicated her win to “all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight,” calling it a “beacon of hope and possibilities.” She added, “This is proof that if you dream big, dreams do come true.”Yeoh is also only the second woman of color to win the Best Actress Oscar, after Halle Berry in 2002 for Monster’s Ball.Everything Everywhere All at OnceEverything Everywhere All at Once made history in several ways with all of its wins, ending the night as the champion in many ways.

Best ActorActor Brendan Fraser has made a triumphant return to the big screen, winning his first-ever Oscar in a coup few could have predicted just a few years back.Fraser received the Best Actor award for his role as Charlie, a reclusive English professor who weighs over 600 pounds and is struggling to reconnect with his daughter in the movie The Whale. The character is also dealing with the death of his partner, which caused him to gain weight and become isolated from his family, who rejected him after coming out.The Whale is based on the play of the same name by openly gay writer Samuel D.

James Galway Plays Liebermann).All told, Liebermann is one of only five classical composers to ever win a GLAMA, since the short-lived awards program became a relic of its late-1990s time period, folding after the 1999 ceremony.Interestingly, 1998 was also the year Liebermann earned his first and thus far only Grammy nomination, in recognition of his second piano concerto. (It’s hard for anyone to win in a category also featuring contemporary classical juggernaut John Adams, who scooped up his second of five career Grammys that year.)On Saturday, March 18, the New York-based composer, who is also an acclaimed pianist, will be the guest of honor at a concert by the National Chamber Ensemble.

Who Killed Robert Wone? (★★★★☆).It’s not that this well-assembled true crime chronicle, directed by Jared P. Scott, fumbles its presentation of the facts revisiting Wone’s brutal stabbing death inside a Logan Circle rowhouse.What’s disturbing is the mere fact that the case remains unsolved, despite the presence inside the house that night of three men — Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky, and Dylan Ward — who most certainly know more about the circumstances of Wone’s murder than they have ever revealed to the authorities, or to Robert’s grieving widow, Katherine.As a Metro Police Department detective puts it in the film, you’ve got four people in the house, one person dead, and three others all saying, “It’s not me.” Then again, more than one person interviewed here blames the MPD for botching the case, blinded by anti-gay bias, because the rowhouse’s three residents, Joe, Victor, and Dylan, all were successful fixtures of D.C.’s LGBTQ community who happened to be involved in a polyamorous relationship.All three, to varying degrees, knew and were trusted by Robert Wone, whom everyone interviewed insists was straight and not curious.Glenn Kirschner, then chief of homicide in the U.S.

herstory — than history, but it still works to honor what has become known as Women’s History Month.Perfectly in tune with such a cause is the second annual Women’s History Month Festival organized by RE:Her DC, the local chapter of a national organization of woman- and nonbinary-owned food and drink purveyors established in 2021.The festival has inspired roughly two dozen menu collaborations, special events, and special offerings at participating establishments, some available all month long, others on specific days or dates, and the rest throughout the festival, which officially runs Monday, March 13, through Sunday, March 19.A portion of sales from the festival-related offerings will benefit RE:Her DC and its various efforts to empower and advance hospitality industry businesswomen.The following specials are this year’s Top 8, at least in terms of holding the most appeal to our palates. All are available during festival week unless otherwise specified.Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique, the nearly year-old “wine bar, bottle shop, bistro, boutique” in Crystal City/National Landing, offers “Cuveé Red Wine Chocolate Chip Cookie,” a bake shop original infused with wine from a woman-owned vintner (576 23rd St.

M. Cristina Garcia‘s Tacones (Rhymes with Cojones), a play that was a hit at last year’s Capital Fringe Festival.This weekend, Garcia’s queer immigrant story will be granted a reprise with a performance as part of this year’s Atlas Intersections Festival.

Washington Post and Washingtonian, and Rachel Cothran, former communications director for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the retailer promises fresh merchandise each day of the weekend, drawing from its reserves of mid-century modern Carlo Moretti glassware, handmade ceramic studio pottery, and more.The centerpiece of the pop-up is a “completely shoppable” Pride “flag” installation: An array of vintage objects sorted by hue and displayed atop six rectangular tables, each representing a different color of the traditional Pride flag — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.The first 25 shoppers to spend $150 or more will receive a Rare Form tote painted by local artist Rose Jaffe. In a subtle nod to Whitman-Walker’s anniversary tagline of “50 Years Rooted in Community,” plants are also a featured part of the mix courtesy of local shop Little Leaf.The pop-up is intended as a way to honor the space, its legacy, and the vibrancy and resilience of the LGBTQ community overall.“We’re thrilled to be working with Rare Form on a project that so deeply and symbolically celebrates the vibrance of the communities we serve,” says Abby Paige Fenton, executive director of the Whitman-Walker Foundation.Friday, March 10, through Sunday, March 12, from 10 a.m.

The Whale as an obese gay man is nothing short of astounding. Though Fraser does not identify as gay, his performance is convincing and a marvel to watch.

Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Whale, and Tár, among others. Looking at the actual list of people up for the awards, however, shows that only a handful of LGBTQ artists are in the running for prizes.In fact, it appears that only five talents who identify as LGBTQ (or who appear to be, in one instance) are nominated this time around.

Metro Weekly. The audience likely identifies as part of the acronym. Or Same-Gender-Loving (SGL).

Shazam! sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is one of the most highly anticipated films of 2023, and now there’s even more reason to be excited – especially for LGBTQ fans of the brand.In an interview with a website called Dorkaholics, the film’s screenwriters Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan opened up about their decision to confirm that one of the main characters in the franchise is, in fact, gay, as many had suspected.“The only new addition for this movie is being a lot more forthright about Pedro being gay,” Gayden admitted. “That was hinted at in the first movie very subtly.”While he didn’t get into the discussions the screenwriters had with those in charge at DC, it sounds like Gayden and his writing partner faced some blowback regarding their decision.“I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that and bringing that into the fore in this movie,” the writer stated in the interview.Pedro, portrayed by DJ Cotrona, is the older foster brother to Shazam (Zachary Levi), the main superhero in the film.

MLive Media Group.Democratic lawmakers — who control the legislature for the first time in 40 years following the 2022 election — spoke favorably of the bill, which was one of the first six pieces of legislation they introduced on the first day of this year’s legislative session.Taken together, those six bills provide a glimpse at the party’s economic and social agenda, which includes repealing a 1931 ban on abortion, repealing “right-to-work” laws, rolling back the retirement tax for seniors, and expanding the earned income tax credit.“No one should be afraid to go to work, or school, in fear of their safety,” openly gay Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) said of the nondiscrimination law, which liberals have argued is long overdue in a so-called “blue state” like Michigan.“It’s long past time for us to amend Michigan’s civil rights law so we can make our state a place where everyone is welcome, regardless of who they love or how they identify,” McFall added.Republicans offered a series of amendments to the bill seeking to carve out special exemptions for religious individuals or organizations, to drop gender identity from the bill, and to require individuals to use restrooms matching their assigned sex at birth.

HuffPost. (Even Florida’s only goes up to third grade, while requiring that such topics be “age or developmentally appropriate” in older grades.)According to Newsweek, Kelley, a former teacher, said, in remarks introducing the bill, that school-age children are “very naive and easily influenced,” arguing that “exposure to such topics is inappropriate for children, creating confusion which may then cause doubt in their identities.”“It is not the place of the school to indoctrinate our children by exposing them to gender and sexual identity curriculums and courses,” she said. “Therefore, we must keep our educational instruction pure, without the political nuances.”But Christofanelli challenged the wording of Kelley’s bill and the logic behind it, wondering if the prohibitions on “sexual orientation” might prohibit teaching about heterosexuality as well as homosexuality.“I’m just going to read you the language in your bill,” Christofanelli said, referring to the prohibition on instruction regarding sexual orientation.

Repubblica.According to Gay Ireland News, Freddi noted that some of the extracurricular activities he proposed were canceled by the university, often without explanation.In one instance, he helped organize a meeting with a student group to talk about HIV, but the meeting was canceled after administrators learned of the proposal.In 2019, after being offered a position to teach a mathematics course, and working for 60 of the 100 estimated hours involved with the course, the university dismissed him, without any explanation, and refused to pay him for the work he’d done. He then filed a lawsuit in the Civil Court of Rome alleging he had been terminated unfairly. On January 24, the judge ruled in his favor, ordering the university to pay out 2,500 euros, or about $2,669 U.S.

Metro Weekly reached out to the managing partners of Bunker, and to the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture and its director, Salah Czapary, about these concerns, including the legal ability of venues to set specific dress codes involving clothing traditionally associated with one gender.In response, Q, a managing partner at Bunker, told Metro Weekly in a statement that the prohibition on certain footwear was adopted out of concern for the safety of patrons.“We recently implemented a no high heels and open-toed shoes policy at Bunker as a safety precaution,” Q wrote in an email. “Bunker is a dimly lit, underground dance club with concrete floors and steps.

transgender athletes from competing in sports that match their gender identity; and ban gender-affirming care, not only for minors, but some legally recognized adults in their twenties.Narissa Rahaman, the executive director of Equality Virginia, told Metro Weekly that some of the “forced outing” bills were especially pernicious.One measure would have required school administrators to out students to their parents, regardless of whether trans-identifying students have discussed their identities with their parents or whether they may be living in a home with parents who are not supportive of LGBTQ identity.“There was one forced outing bill that would require a court order for a student to be able to update their name in their school record,” Rahaman said.  “And not just their official school record, like a roster, but just any sort of school document, like a library card reflecting their correct gender, would have required a court order.”Rahaman said the organization’s priority this year was primarily aimed at defeating such bills, although Equality Virginia was monitoring other pro-LGBTQ measures that were introduced, including three bills — one introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), one introduced by Del.

a form of retaliation against the Walt Disney Company for speaking out against the so-called “Parental Rights in Education” bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.The measure prohibits instruction or discussion in grades K-3 of gender or sexual orientation, and requires that any discussion of those topics in older grades be “age or developmentally appropriate.”Disney was initially silent on the bill, which Republicans were determined to pass, but the company later spoke out and agreed to pause all political donations to Florida politicians following internal backlash from LGBTQ employees and demonstrations protesting Disney’s response to the law.According to CNN, Peri has frequently made derogatory remarks about the LGBTQ community, lamenting the greater visibility of LGBTQ people and the lack of societal condemnation for homosexuality.“So why are there homosexuals today?” Peri said in a January 2022 Zoom discussion, later posted to YouTube. “There are any number of reasons, you know, that are given.

found dead in a taxi on the Lower East Side in April.The second man, D.C. resident John Umberger, was found dead in an Upper East Side townhouse a month later. Following their deaths, the men’s families discovered that thieves had drained the victims’ bank accounts using facial recognition technology.

Daily Wire, said that eliminating “transgenderism” from public life would be “for the good of society.” (Transgender rights advocates say the term “transgenderism” is offensive because it dehumanizes trans people and reduces their gender identity to a clinical problem or to a political ideology.)“There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism,” Knowles said in his speech. “It is all or nothing.

Cut 4 Me.Her unique sound, which blends elements of R&B, electronic, and alternative music, has earned her widespread recognition and critical acclaim. She makes tunes that are weird, lovely, and worth checking out if you’re searching for something unlike anything you’ve heard before.She recently released her sophomore album Raven to rave (get it?) reviews.Fans are thrilled to have her back after a six-year-long break from sharing full-lengths, and now is the time for others to discover her talent.1. Genre-Defying SoundKelela’s music is known for its fusion of traditional R&B with futuristic electronic and alternative sounds.

Selling Kabul (★★★★☆) at Signature Theatre might have been able to hear the actors’ hearts racing.The Afghanistan-set drama by Sylvia Khoury, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2022, draws us fully inside the humble, endangered lives of Taroon (Mazin Azar), a translator desperately awaiting a visa to flee Kabul, and his sister Afiya (Awesta Zarif). Afiya, along with husband Jawid (Yousof Sultani), risks freedom and safety by hiding Taroon from the Taliban, and from the couple’s nosy neighbor, Leyla (Neagheen Homaifar).Ghaheri’s production draws us close inside the characters’ dire reality, and Afiya and Jawid’s cozy apartment, rendered in textured, naturalistic detail by Tony Cisek.Images on the living room television of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai — with Obama, with Putin — usher in the atmosphere of 2013 and America’s longest war, reinforced by the heap of Army fatigues piled in a corner.

The Consultant (★★☆☆☆) falls in line with this era of TV dramas, trying to go a step above the rest to craft something worthwhile, but whether it achieves any of this is a different story.Created by Tony Basgallop, who previously helmed the Apple TV+ series Servant alongside M. Night Shyamalan, the dark thriller (which alleges it is also a comedy) stars Christoph Waltz as Regus Patoff, a sociopathic consultant who takes over Comp Ware, a successful mobile game company, after the CEO is killed by a “devil-possessed” kid obsessed with the company’s games.Quickly forced to abide by Patoff’s strange and demanding requests, the Comp Ware employees, unable to afford to quit, suffer through Patoff’s quirks and increasingly strange demands.

shared the news of Ciccone’s passing on Instagram.Henry expressed his grief and also reflected on the complexity of their relationship as brothers. In his post, Henry said, “Anthony was a complex character, and God knows we tangled in moments, as true brothers can.

ABC News. “One year later, after we had posted on our website and made a stance, [in] December of 2022 we raised $14,809.”As a result, UCA has announced it will close its doors in May, at the end of the current school year.The school shared several letters from churches and individual donors taking issue with the statement of support for the LGBTQ community with ABC News.In one, a church that withdrew its support of UCA called the LGBTQ community “a diverse collection of behaviors,” adding, “Our greatest concern about the Accepting and Affirming stance is that it denies the Biblical definitions of sin and identity and thereby renders the grace of God meaningless.”Other letters were harsher.“Do not call yourself a Christian school if you are affirming sin,” one donor wrote.

Billboard charts. But then again, when does she not?Swift has achieved a new milestone in her career by earning the rare feat of having 10 albums find space on the Billboard 200 chart simultaneously.She’s just the fifth artist to do so, according to Billboard, and the first without a major event to connect the sales jump to. The singer-songwriter takes up 5% of all available real estate on the weekly ranking of the most-consumed albums and EPs in the U.S., which is no small accomplishment.The “Anti-Hero” talent has always been known for her dominance in the music industry, and her latest achievement proves once again how popular and powerful she remains.

debunked theory that claims young people — especially those assigned female at birth, and those who claim to have so-called “autism” or similar neurological or developmental disorders — will identify as transgender due to “social contagion” or peer pressure. The newly enacted law makes Mississippi the sixth state to pass either a complete or partial ban on gender-affirming care, although complete bans in other states, such as Alabama and Arkansas, have been halted as lawsuits challenging those laws work their way through the courts.Other states, such as Utah and Arizona, have enacted partial bans, blocking all surgical treatments on minors. Utah’s law also imposes a permanent moratorium on puberty blockers for any youth who has not already been receiving hormonal interventions for at least six months.The passage of the Mississippi law continues the trend of Republican-dominated legislatures and Republican governors taking aggressive action to prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans-identifying minors.A similar law signed by South Dakota Gov.

 New York Post. She says her superiors — Wells Fargo branch manager Tiffany Davis and service manager Shaquanna Sheria — subjected her to “harsh treatment” by denigrating her in front of staff.In court documents, Edwards specifically singled out Davis for allegedly “spreading rumors” about Edwards’ sexual orientation, and for reprimanding Edwards over her style of dress.Davis allegedly claimed that a customer complained “about you giving high attitude and being extra flamboyant with your nails.”She further alleges that a colleague at the branch told her that Emily Stewart, another senior-level executive at the Newark branch, “informed [the colleague] that she doesn’t like gay people,” according to the complaint.The hostile work environment caused Edwards’s stress levels to rocket, and forced her to consult a doctor “to address heightened sugar levels caused by the nasty treatment … by her managers,” the lawsuit claims. Her stress level, stemming from her mistreatment at work, was so high that it allegedly caused her sugar level to spike to “600 plus or near coma level,” reaching the point at which her “diabetes made her body shut down and contributed to her vision problems and created other detrimental issues regarding her health,” the lawsuit continues.The hostile work environment became “so intolerable” that Edwards informed her superiors of her intention to voluntarily resign as of March 18, 2022.