Category Archives: Celebrity
Chance Perez Kisses Michael Conor Boy Band
Be still my heart! Loving the new show BOY BAND.
In the first few weeks, I found the show kind of insulting to gay people. I sent them a note stating, Yes you have boys in bands, Yes, they have girl fans. But I am sure they have some boy fans too. American Idol and X factor do the same thing. They alienate the gay fans. Just says FANS. Don’t make it heterosexual.
Recently I noticed they have stopped doing that.
I love both Chance and Michael. And when Chance appeared to kiss Michael on the cheek recently, I thought WOW!~ Could he or they be gay? I hope so. That would be great if they came out.
It’s funny, on YouTube, NBC has the clip, with the KISS DELETED. I shot this video, from my TV screen.
19 year old CHANCE PEREZ
17 year old MICHAEL CONOR
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Follow Boy Band:
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/boybandabc
Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/boybandabc
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/boybandabc
#BoyBand
http://abc.go.com/shows/boy-band
About Boy Band:
“Boy Band” is a new series where talented singers battle it out to become a member of the next great music sensation. And for the first time ever, viewers at home will vote for their favorite five band members, live, creating a group America can truly call its own.
Lady Bunny on Donald Trump
She’s back! Roasting Donald Trump! WATCH
Unhappy parody lyrics by Lady Bunny & Beryl Mendelbaum
Video by Mikhail Torich / http://torich.nyc
www.LadyBunny.net.
twitter @ladybunny77 instagram official_lady_bunny
Costumes by Garo Sparo
DJ Austin’s Oil Can Harry’s July 6th
Seattle/Tacoma Pride performance July 8th
DJ Disco Sundays The Monster NYC 6-10 July 9th
Perform Trans-Jester! Fire Island Ice Palace July 14th w/ Daniel Nardicio
DJ Hamptons annual benefit Tea Dance 4-8 July 15th
DJ Disco Sundays The Monster 6-10 NYC July 16th
Perform July 22nd The Lodge, Maryland
DJ Disco Sundays The Monster July 23rd 6-10
DJ Disco Sundays The Monster July 30th 6-10
Vancouver Gay Pride August 6th
Fire Island perform August 11th and DJ August 12th
August 26th Gay Naturists at Poconos Valley Resort (I won’t be nude)
August 31 Klub Kids tour Dublin
September 1 Klub Kids tour Cardiff
September 2 Klub Kids tour Manchester
September 3 Klub Kids tour London
September 5 Klub Kids tour Birmingham
September 5th DJ gig in Lisbon
September 8th Klub Kids Amsterdam
September 9th Klub Kids tour Glasgow
September 10th Klub Kids tour Newcastle
September 17th Virgin Islands Drag Brunch
September 22 North Carolina Outer Banks Pride
September 24 Bushwig Festival in Brooklyn (unconfirmed)
September 26th Trans-Jester! in Perth, Australia
September 28th Trans-Jester! in Sydney, Australia
September 29th-30th Trans-Jester! at Melbourne’s Fringe Festival
Gay New York-Fire Island – INVASION OF THE PINES
Mascara, Mirth & Mayhem is a collection of photographs taken by renowned photographer Susan Kravitz over the past thirty years at the annual LGBTQ event known as the Invasion of the Pines.
The Invasion of the Pines occurs every July 4th and involves participants from the Fire Island communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. It began in 1976, when a member of the Cherry Grove community had been refused service in a Pines’ restaurant because he had been dressed in drag. In protest, a small group of Cherry Grove residents cross-dressed and took a water taxi to the Pines on Independence Day of that year, to stand up against this “height of insult” by “invading” their neighboring community. Four decades later, the Invasion has evolved into a uniquely raucous event that joyfully celebrates human rights and freedom of expression by thousands of people, straight and gay.
Kravitz’s photographs capture the rebelliousness, the high camp, and the joy of the Invasion. They are provocative, introspective, sad and funny, and tinged with sexual innuendo. Yet they also reflect another journey, one that gives insight into the LGBTQ movement itself.
From the fearful, AIDS-ridden years of the 1980s and 1990s, to the joyous years of this decade when LGBTQ people are out and proud (and, if they choose, legally married), these Invasion photographs celebrate a day to be free, to be whoever you want to be, and to be gay.
“My photographs are as much about the times I which they were taken as they are about the people who populate them. Ultimately, they are about human rights and freedom of expression seen through the lens of the Invasion.” said Kravitz of her eighty-eight color and black and white photographs.
Susan Kravitz is a social documentarian of daily life. Over the past thirty years she has exhibited her photographs in galleries and museums in the United States and abroad, including China, South Korea, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic. Her Cherry Grove photographs were recently featured on the New York Times Lens blog (A Gay Haven on Fire Island) and in the International New York Times, Paris edition.
The book comes out next week! 148 pages, available in softcover or hardcover.
Book is available now on http://www.
CAZWELL Loose Wrists GAY MUSIC
NYC-based rapper Cazwell is back with “Loose Wrists”, the first single from his new music label Snow Cone, and hopes to “make America femme again.”
Cazwell performs much of the clip with his dancers in a set of pastel lace rompers designed by Hoza Rodriguz that have already gone viral on social media.
“We have a president that wants to take us off of the census and a vice president that believes shock therapy will cure gayness. At the end of last year, I vowed to be as gay as possible with my music and videos. We have to be more visible than ever and I hope I inspire that.”
WATCH AND SHARE
March for Equality 2017
Supporters of LGBT rights marched and rallied in the nation’s capital and dozens of other U.S. cities on Sunday, celebrating gains but angry over threats posed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
The centerpiece event, the Equality March in Washington, was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
Activists have been embittered by the Trump administration’s rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
They also complain that Trump, who campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with foes of LGBT rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.
Two 15-year-old marchers, Jessica Dodge and Shekinah Aho, held hands and wore shirts that said, “Make America Gay Again.”
The Los Angeles pride parade was renamed the ResistMarch, and tens of thousands turned out in Hollywood, some carrying rainbow flags or signs reading “Love Trumps Hate.” Speakers included Mayor Eric Garcetti, U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, and RuPaul, the host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Waters led the crowd in a chant of “Impeach 45.”
“We’re going to take our country back from him,” she said. “I know that you have the strength. I know that you have the courage. And I know that each of you understand you have the power.”
Back in Washington, the activist leaders on hand included Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, which monitors media coverage of the LGBT community.
She noted that Trump, breaking from the practice of Barack Obama, has declined to issue a proclamation in honor of Pride Month, and that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.
“If you look at their prioritization, we’re really low on it,” she said. “There absolutely is a resistance aspect to this march.”
READ MORE HERE
CHER on Broadway 2018
A musical based on Cher’s life is slated to debut on Broadway in 2018. The singer confirmed the news on Tuesday night on her Twitter account.
“Just got off phone w/Writer & Director of musical,” Cher wrote. “There will [be] performance in theatre with actors, dancers, singers!! It’ll be on Broadway 2018.”
News of a possible musical production tracing Cher’s life – and using Cher’s extensive catalog of pop hits – surfaced in January, when the singer attended a read-through of the production. According to The New York Post, Jason Moore, known for Pitch Perfect, will direct. Rick Elice, of Jersey Boys, penned the musical. Three different actresses will portray Cher at various points in her life. At the read-through, one of the actresses was Tony Award-winner Lena Hall.
After Cher attended the event in January, she tweeted her support for the project. “Just walked [off] the musical,” she wrote. “I SOBBED & LAUGHED & I WAS PREPARED NOT 2 LIKE IT. AUDIENCE CLAPPED AFTER SONGS & GAVE IT STANDING OVATION.”
Earlier this year, the singer accepted the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards. “I’ve wanted to do what I do since I was four years-old,” she said during her speech. “And I’ve been doing it for 53 years … I’m 71 yesterday. And I can do a five-minute plank, ok? Just saying.”
LIVE PROUD 2017 AT&T and GLAAD
Happy Pride! As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and Pride season, we at AT&T have launched our fifth-annual Live Proud campaign that celebrates self-expression and being bold (announcement release).
This year, from June 1 to July 31, friends, allies and members of the LGBT community are invited to participate in exciting sweepstakes and share affirming messages of freedom, confidence and unity to declare definitively that We Are Bold.
Participants can join the campaign in the following ways:
- Fans can post what We Are Bold means to them on their social channels, using either #ATTLiveProud or #WeAreBold on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, and AT&T will make a $1 donation to GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, for each post up to $50,000, the fundraising goal.
- When consumers click on a “Support GLAAD and Shop AT&T” offer at att.com/liveproud, AT&T will donate $5 to GLAAD toward the fundraising goal.
- Fans can also take part in the AT&T Live Proud Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to New York City for themselves and a guest to attend a live taping of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens L!ve with Andy Cohen.” To enter the sweepstakes, visit att.com/liveproud.
- Select national Pride festivals will also feature Live Proud activation experiences where guests can participate in the campaign by having their #WeAreBold portrait captured and learn about AT&T’s long-standing commitment to the community. Visit att.com/liveproud to learn which Pride events you can find AT&T at this summer.
There’s also a “We Are Bold” video that features these employees (check it out here). Fans can follow the images throughout the campaign with the hashtags #ATTLiveProud and #WeAreBold.
Dwayne Johnson & Zac Efron in Baywatch
Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron….shirtless.
YAAAAASSSSSSSS!
The Baywatch movie is out – and we got a sneak peak last night!
Great summer comedy! Hey, will it win an Oscar. No. It’s not that kind of movie. But it is funny and it is good, whether you are an old Baywatch fan or new to Baywatch! Well worth seeing on a big screen. Beautiful high def pecs – and boobs, and the swim/water scenes are actually very well filmed.
The backstory – Baywatch was an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show was canceled after its first season on NBC, but survived through syndication and later became one of the most watched television shows in the world. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999. From 1999 to 2001, with a setting change and large cast overhaul, it was known as Baywatch Hawaii.
Now comes Baywatch, the movie. An action-comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, based on the television series of the same name. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Ilfenesh Hadera, Priyanka Chopra, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, with cameos by David Hasselhoff, and Pamela Anderson.
BAYWATCH follows devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Johnson) as he butts heads with a brash new recruit, a washed up gold medal swimmer (Efron). Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.
Dwayne Johnson’s “Rock” physique already has legions of fans—but the transformation of co-star Zac Efron (who shot to fame in the teen-film hit High School Musical) has shocked the world. According to Efron’s trainer, Patrick Murphy, the actor reached 5% body fat after just 12 weeks of training.
All kinds of photos and video teasers on their FACEBOOK page.
It’s a pretty safe bet that Baywatch will go down as the biggest blockbuster of the summer of 2017.
Will & Grace RETURN! Sneak Peaks
NBC’s “Will & Grace” returns for a 12-episode run beginning this Fall.
But, what is more important, is THIS SHOW,
shaped public opinion, of gay people!
Throughout its eight-year run, Will & Grace earned 16 Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series, making it one of only three sitcoms in the award’s history to achieve this feat. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time.
Do You Take This Man GAY MOVIE NEWS
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the gay marriage drama “Do You Take This Man,” starring Anthony Rapp, Alyson Hannigan, and Jonathan Bennett.
The film had its U.S. premiere at Outfest, and went on to play the Cleveland International Film Festival, Reeling-Chicago and Out in Film: Atlanta.
Joshua Tunick directed from his own script. It’s very well done, filmed epertly, and has an amazing ensemble cast! Joshua is also producing with publicist-turned-producer Eric Kops and Dave Perkal. Breaking Glass is planning a July limited theatrical followed by a VOD/DVD release.
The story follows an intimate group of friends and family gathering at the home of two gay men — portrayed by Rapp and Bennett — to celebrate their nuptials. When the wedding hits a snag, the group helps the grooms to see that all marriages have their challenges.
Variety first reported on the project in 2015 as shooting was starting in Los Angeles, when the film was titled “Modern Love.” Thomas Dekker, Mackenzie Astin, Alona Tal, Hutchi Hancock, Marla Sokoloff, Lee Garlington (from the Magicians) and Sam Anderson also star.
“The Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality came down on the last day of filming ‘Do You Take This Man,’” said Kops. “With the recent shift in the political climate, the story is as timely as ever.”
Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black MARRY
GAY MARRIAGE NEWS
SO SO HAPPY for Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black!
After that little scandal with Tom back in February…but hey, he is SO YOUNG. DLB forgave him and the couple seem happy as can be!
The fairytale wedding took place in the stunning surroundings of Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park.
And according to reports, there was a Romeo and Juliet theme, with Tom calling out ‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ from a balcony!
Posting the 2 pictures, above, on Instagram, Tom wrote: “On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life, @dlanceblack ❤️ We shared the day with 120 of our closest friends and family, from Texarkana to Plymouth! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend the most special weekend of our lives!”
Donna Summer Musical
SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical
November 7 – December 10, 2017 LaJolla Playhouse, CALIFORNIA
Songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, and Others
Book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff
Musical Supervision by Ron Melrose
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Directed by Des McAnuff
This vibrant, world-premiere musical charts the incomparable life of Donna Summer — the undisputed Queen of Disco. Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Who’s Tommy) directs this musical extravaganza, featuring more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits and electric dance in a tribute to the voice of a generation.
Donna Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano has big Broadway plans as he prepares to launch his new stage show SUMMER at La Jolla Playhouse in November. The show, based on the life of his late wife, will feature all of the disco queen’s greatest hits, with hopes taking the show the Broadway in 2018.
According to WENN, the show, directed by Jersey Boys’ Des McAnuff, will chronicle Summer’s life story using not only her most famous songs, but also some obscure ones. Most importantly, Sudano told WENN that he hopes for it to inspire and encourage young girls.
He said, “It’s a lesson for people going through struggle and who stumble and make mistakes,” he adds. “It’s gonna give them hope to overcome and succeed and carry on with their lives. It’s not about imitating Donna – Via Broadway World
No casting has yet to be announced, but it has been revealed that there will be a search for three Donnas’ to play the role portraying different segments of her career.
SIR JET aka Joel Evan Tye
SIR JET!
Singer Joel Evan Tye aka Sir JET.
The mysterious and alluring gender-bending Sir JET aka Joel Evan Tye is a popstar like no other. With his super-hero body and love for skin tight costumes and anime, he is what has been referred to as “Nick Lachey meets Ziggy Stardust.” The online article “The Boy Who Talked Like a Girl,” is the story of JET’s childhood struggle with gender anxiety that lead him to become an agoraphobic mute for almost a decade to only rediscover his voice again at age 20 and become the man you see today.
JET’s mission in life is to help people who struggle with their identity and to encourage them to find their true selves by going within like he did. In addition to being referred to as the “Madonna Crotch” by Patti Stanger when he appeared on BRAVO’s last season of Millionaire Matchmaker, JET is also a heavily sought after model, including appearing on the boxes of LASC’s first line of underwear, and modeling for Mike Ruiz’s Pretty Masculine series a total of four times.
About 5 years ago, he did an EP, a collection of songs with themes based on concepts from his book I’m Enough: How to Live Life Like a Popstar and Find Your True Self in the Process. You can get his highly popular and dance-able “Shout-out to the Lonely” on iTunes. Watch the video on YouTube.
What is a popstar?
A popstar is a person who embodies all the qualities we love: they always look their best, behave with total confidence in everything they do, and exert a sense of love to all they come in contact with. This book is about how to discover how you can become a popstar in your own right, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I’m Enough will give you the skills to embrace everyday as a chance to express yourself while finding the beauty in everything you do and everyone you meet. If you’ve ever felt like you weren’t good enough to do the things your heart desired, if you’ve ever felt like you weren’t good enough to make friends because you were too different, or if you ever felt like you just can’t win, this book will help you see that all you need to do, is shift your perception. The material in this book is everything I have learned over the course of my life about humanity and the self, and what I could do so that little by little, everyday, I would become more and more inline with the universe and my true purpose. I’ve discovered that I am good enough to do the things I want to do, be the person I want to be, and now I want to show you how to as well.
He explores many soul searching topics on his YouTube channel. Happiness; Depressions issues, Finding joy; Mending a broken heart, etc.
“I am a role-model for youth who are in need of a male celebrity who embodies the masculine and feminine energies they wish to express themselves. The idea is that the struggle we have with equality in our society started when somewhere along the road of life we were taught to feel unequal. I wish to help people see that the path to equality starts from within, coming to terms with the male and female energies we all possess.
Sir Jet has some idea’s and wants to get back in the studio!
Any producers out there reading this – contact him!
Get your free download of “Bend that Gender and Explode!” the tour remix exclusively at www.reverbnation.com/iamsirjet
Sir Jet SOUNDCLOUD
Facebook Page – with tons of hot and sexy images!
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
I have an expression I use ….
Christian with a “K”
(as in Khristian).
To me, it means Christians who really are not Christian. They are “married to Christ” act holier than thou….you know the type?! They hate gays, they don’t drink, they don’t have fun in life. Because GOD is their life. GOD controls them. Hey, I am not against religion. But the extremists, the one’s that want to take away our rights, the on’e that hate on gay people – I have NO USE FOR!
In Stephen Cone’s “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party”, a 40-something mom of two nearly-grown kids, confesses to her daughter, “Something happened to me and I’m not sure what I’m becoming.” Every single one of the 20 characters has a similar moment at one point or another during the course of Henry’s party, which takes place over an afternoon and evening. Stephen Cone is a humanist; he can’t help but perceive that every person, even those we might write off as “types,” has complexity.
This may sound like “Henry Gamble” is a dreary psychological drama, but it’s not. It’s a rambunctious, often hilarious, and carefully-constructed story about a teenage boy starting to question his sexuality in the midst of his Evangelical Christian world. Instead of keeping the focus tightly on Henry, Cone widens the scope, giving each character a unique arc. There are times when the film plays like a French farce, or a suburban version of Jean Renoir’s “Rules of the Game,” with different couples running in and out of different rooms, having whispered melodramas before leaping back into the pool. Underneath the exuberance, the film roils with turmoil.
A lot of low-budget films have a similar setup to “Henry Gamble”: they take place in one location and focus on interpersonal relationships. But “Henry Gamble” is huge in comparison. It’s about people in the process of “becoming.”
Get a sneak peak HERE, Watch on Netflix, Stream it Amazon hereHenry Gamble’s Birthday Party OR Buy the DVD here Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
GAY NEWS – PLEASE Like Me!
PLEASE LIKE ME!
What a GREAT SHOW!
Somehow, this slid under my radar. I just discovered it and binge watched it all! I can’t wait for more episodes! Can not get enough of this show!
Twentysomething Josh is going through a number of big changes as he navigates his first decade of adulthood. After being dumped by his girlfriend, he comes to the realization that he is gay.
After that shocker, he moves back into the family home to help care for his mother, who has previously attempted suicide. He later moves out and into a house with best friend Tom. With his life in disarray, big challenges await Josh in his immediate future, which are especially hard for someone like him, who with a natural aversion to drama and emotion. So he deals with it all — only in his own awkward, self-centered way.
Please Like Me is an Australian television comedy drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. He is genuis! The show is funny, touching, creative…LOVE IT!!! Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia.
Thank God for HULU!
France Presidential Hopeful Emmanuel Marcon
Gay News Flash!
In case you haven’t heard, France is in the throes of an intense presidential campaign between two polar opposites: Emmanuel Macron, a young, pro-LGBTQ liberal, and Marine Le Pen, the antigay daughter of a Nazi sympathizer. The candidates are currently running neck and neck.
This week, Garcon, a bi-monthly magazine that caters to gay men, featured a topless Macron as the cover boy. Underneath him is the headline: “Coming out: a necessary fight.”
Reporter Tristan Barreiros, who writes for Garcon, tells Mashable that the picture was photoshopped and that the decision to run the cover story on “coming out” was meant to be ironic.
39-year-old Macron is straight but he is a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, which is something his opponents have tried using against him. Throughout the campaign, they have accused him of being closeted, spread rumors that he was having a gay affair, and suggested he is backed by “a very wealthy gay lobby.”
Read more at QUEERTY
Pietro Boselli Male Model
A few weeks ago, math teacher-turned-model Pietro Boselli shared a “workout video” and several photos from a recent trip to the Philippines and now he has shared a much lengthier video travelogue of those adventures in Nido, Pangalusian, and othe islands….I am sure, a coffee table book will be next for him. WATCH
Dan Savage IMPEACH TRUMP
GAY NEWS –
Dan Savage is using his disdain for President Donald Trump for great causes.
The LGBTQ rights activist and author announced April 18 that he’d raised $100,000 for three organizations that are in direct opposition to Trump policies through the sale of ITMFA, or “Impeach The Mother F*cker Already,” merchandise.
Savage, 52, made the announcement on the weekly Seattle newspaper, The Stranger, and on his personal Instagram.
I’m mailing out checks today—and not just to the IRS. This morning I had the distinct pleasure of mailing off checks to Planned Parenthood ($33,333.34), the ACLU ($33,333.33) and the International Refugee Assistance Project ($33,333.33)—money we raised selling ITMFA (“Impeach The Mother Fucker Already”) buttons, t-shirts, hats, stickers, coffee cups, and lapel pins at www.ITMFA.org and www.impeachthemotherfuckeralready.com. And I got to mail those checks out because nearly 10,000 Savage Love readers and Savage Lovecast listeners have ordered #ITMFA gear over the last eight weeks! The best part of wearing ITMFA buttons or t-shirts or hats or lapel pins or all of the above? Or the second best part, I should say, after helping to raise money for three critically important and hugely effective organizations fighting Donald Trump? The interactions you have with friends, co-workers, neighbors, at anti-Trump marches, on the bus, etc. Because when people are going to ask you what ITMFA stands for and YOU GET TO TELL THEM it stands for ‘Impeach The Mother Fucker Already!” (If there are kids around you can go with “Malicious Fascist” or “Malodorous Fart” or “Malignant Fraud.”) We sell the buttons in ten packs (ten for $10) so you can share buttons with people who absolutely have to have one after they find out what it means!
Harvey Fierstein J Lo LGBT Youth
“I think [younger LGBTQ people] think that the big struggle was getting gay marriage passed. Young people growing up right now see Zachary Quinto or Neil Patrick Harris in major motion pictures or on television, and think it’s always been this good. I think they have no idea how we would be arrested in the streets, and kept from ever feeling normal. I grew up when people didn’t believe it when you told them Liberace was gay. Liberace!
Now there are museums, community centers and so many resources. There are plenty of books that didn’t exist before. Our history was just so sucked away from us and not allowed, and now we’re reclaiming that history. But remember, there were gays in Hitler’s army, and then all of a sudden you turn around and we’re in concentration camps. You cannot forget that. You need to know that that can happen at any moment.”—Harvey Fierstein, talking to The Hollywood Reporter
I have to agree. Many young people do not know their roots and LGBT history.
IN OTHER NEWS…..
Jennifer Lopez is set to star as Rosie in NBC’s next musical event, Bye Bye Birdie Live! with HARVEY FIERSTEIN!
Now Harvey Fierstein, who is adapting the book and lyrics for the song-and-dance show, has revealed that he is making it less ‘sexist and old-fashioned’.
The 1960 Tony-winning Broadway musical, which inspired the 1963 film, centers on married songwriter-agent Albert and his sweetheart-lover secretary Rosie.
They stage a publicity stunt for famous singer Conrad Birdie (originally based on Elvis Presely) before he’s drafted to the army.
‘I want to be true to the time it takes place but at the same time, having Rosie be Albert’s secretary whom he’s having an affair with, is a little sexist and old-fashioned,’ Harvey said in the interview published in The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.
‘I didn’t see any reason for that. So I changed that.
‘I made them both high school teachers…He’s the English teacher who writes a song, and she’s the music teacher who says, “I’ve got a great kid with a great voice.”
‘He ends up being Conrad Birdie, who’s supposed to only take one summer off to promote the record but turns into a star,’ he added.
‘It’s been eight years and Rosie just wants to go back to their real lives. It really makes a lot more sense that way.’
The song that opens the musical, An English Teacher, will be altered to suit the new story line, and some of the scenes and songs will be re-ordered to fit live television.
J-Lo also wanted the story to highlight Rosie’s struggle as a Puerto Rican woman about to hit middle age in a relationship with a man afraid of commitment.
That plotline was in the original musical but was cut out of the 1963 film.
Harvey added: ‘Jennifer Lopez knows what she wants out of performing.’
NBC will air Bye Bye Birdie Live! in December but has yet to reveal the exact date.
Gilbert Baker Passed Away
SAD SAD DAY IN GAY HISTORY
Gilbert Baker, a self-described “gay Betsy Ross” who in 1978 hand-dyed and stitched together eight strips of vibrantly colored fabric into a rainbow flag, instantly creating an enduring international symbol of gay pride, was found dead on Friday at his home in New York City. He was only 65.
Cleve Jones, a friend and gay rights activist who confirmed the death, said that Mr. Baker had a stroke several years ago but had not been sick recently.
As the gay rights movement spread from San Francisco and New York in the 1970s, Mr. Baker was often asked by friends aware of his creative talents to make banners for protests and marches. His creations, like others during that time, often included the pink triangle, which protesters had claimed as an icon after its initial use by the Nazis to identify gay men in concentration camps during World War II.
Before a gay pride parade in 1978 in San Francisco, Harvey Milk, a city supervisor and gay rights leader who was assassinated that year, joined others in asking Mr. Baker to create an emblem to represent the movement.
Mr. Baker, with help from volunteers, filled trash cans with dye in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco and pieced together the first flags, unveiling them in the parade on June 25, 1978.
“We stood there and watched and saw the flags, and their faces lit up,” Mr. Jones said in a phone interview on Friday. “It needed no explanation. People knew immediately that it was our flag.”
The first flags had eight colors, each stripe carrying its own significance: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for peace and purple for spirit.
“A flag translates into everything, from tacky souvenirs to the names of organizations and the way that flags function,” Mr. Baker said in an interview in 2008. “I knew instantly when I saw the reaction that it was going to be something. I didn’t know what or how or — but I knew.”
In recent weeks he had finished creating 39 nine-color flags — the eight original colors, plus lavender to represent diversity — to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the first rainbow flag.
Mr. Baker refused to apply for a trademark for his creation. “It was his gift to the world,” Mr. Jones said. “He told me when the flag first went up that he knew at that moment that it was his life’s work.”
Source – NY TIMES
I never got to meet Gilbert – we had been talking the last few weeks about his lavender addition to the flag and were supposed to meet and have drinks this summer in NYC…sadly, that will never happen. But I have a piece of the 25th anniversary flag, autographed by him, hanging proudly in my home. And will cherish it, as long as I live!
TRUMP will NOT Protect Federal LGBT workers
LGBT NEWS FLASH
President Trump has flip-flopped once again on his promise to protect LGBT workers who work for federal contractors from workplace discrimination. – I am so tired of this shit talker – when can we impeach him???
Trump signed an order on Monday revoking protections signed into law by President Obama in 2014. Obama signed an executive order banning LGBT discrimination among federal contractors; he concurrently signed an order requiring contracted businesses prove they’re complying with federal laws and executive orders. President Trump rescinded the latter order, making it much more difficult to know whether a business has committed to ending LGBT bias in hiring, firing, and promotions.
Lambda Legal condemned Trump’s actions, saying, “This administration has made it extremely difficult to enforce these federal laws as applied to federal contractors.” “It’s sending a message to these companies,” said Camilla Taylor, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, “…that the federal government simply doesn’t care whether or not they violate the law.”
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Grace and Frankie Season 3
Season 3 Coming March 24
They’re not friends, but when their husbands leave them for each other, proper Grace and eccentric Frankie begin to bond in this Emmy-nominated series.
Grace and Frankie is an American comedy / drama series that originally streamed on Netflix on May 8, 2015. The series was created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris, and stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the title roles of Grace and Frankie, two unlikely friends who are brought together after their husbands announce they are in love and plan to get married. Sam Waterston, Martin Sheen, Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael, and Baron Vaughn co-star in supporting roles.
