Remember the time R2D2 from Star Wars was a massive homophobe?

The new Star Wars is only a month away, with the excitement and hype driving fans into a frenzy.

But the franchise isn’t completely faultless (and no, we’re not talking about Jar Jar Binks), inspiring some work that might not be what George Lucas intended.

In one iteration of the lovable robot R2D2 in Mad Magazine, he was depicted as a massive homophobe.

This was from January 1978, so there has to be a certain amount of understanding that this was a different time, but ‘Star Roars’ ended up being one of Mad Magazine’s most popular and highly sold parodies. It was written by Larry Siegel with Dick DeBartolo.

Mistakes were soon rectified.

It was re-issued in 2007, in the book ‘MAD about Star Wars’, with the panel being changed to ‘gay robot’ instead.

When DeBartolo was asked about the panel in 2012, he said: ‘You know, I’m not sure why they changed it, but I’m glad they did.

‘I dislike words that are supposed to be the joke. Like a swear word said by an old lady [gets] a big laugh, but it’s not a joke. I know I didn’t use that word in the original, but then again I guess I didn’t write it.’

The post Remember the time R2D2 from Star Wars was a massive homophobe? appeared first on Gay Star News.

Joe Morgan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/remember-the-time-r2d2-from-star-wars-was-a-massive-homophobe/

Mr Gay World Klaus Burkart is Giving Up His Title After 7 Months. Here’s Why

In an open letter to fans, reigning ‘Mr Gay World’ Klaus Burkart has stepped down from his position because of “personal changes.”

21-year-old “milk technician” Burkart, who won the competition in May, wrote:

“When I entered the 2015 MR GAY WORLD™ competition in South Africa I thought that becoming MR GAY WORLD™ was the biggest challenge of my life.

“Indeed it is very challenging and exciting winning the title, but what is more challenging is living up to the expectations, responsibilities and duties that come along with it.

“Being MR GAY WORLD™ and serving the community has filled me with pride and joy. I had the opportunity to travel to different places and meet many members and friends of the LGBTI community – their positive feedback showed me that my mission had a true meaning and that the efforts of MR GAY WORLD™ are relevant and important.

“Facing this great experiences I’m very sad to announce that due to personal changes in my life I will no longer be able to live up to the expectations and serve the community to the extent that the title requires to do so.”

Passing the baton on to runner-up Mr Gay Hong Kong, Burkart added that Emmanuel Mass Luciano “will be a great representative for our community, who will put all his heart and passion into his reign.”

Watch an interview with Burkart below.

The post Mr Gay World Klaus Burkart is Giving Up His Title After 7 Months. Here’s Why appeared first on Towleroad.

Michael Fitzgerald

Mr Gay World Klaus Burkart is Giving Up His Title After 7 Months. Here’s Why

The Gay Dating Pool Is Small But Not Hopeless

“If I’m at a bar and see more than two people whom my ex or I have slept with, I leave immediately,” my friend Rich told me shortly after I split from my partner of five years. 

I was looking to friends for counsel on re-entering the dating world, and Rich was resolute in his sentiment that dangling my fishing line into a pool of familiar faces was not the way for me to move forward romantically.  By Rich’s logic, I’d have a hard time staying in any West Hollywood club for more than five minutes and would, likewise, remain alone eternally.

“So, are you suggesting that I move to a new city?” I asked.  He made no room for the idea that the man of my dreams could be sitting right beside the guys he was advising me to avoid.

“Are you kidding?  Chances are that this ‘fantasy man’ you speak of has already been involved with the two men he’s perched next to.  Trust me.”  According to Rich, trying to date locally after a break-up was a lost cause, the gay version of a zombie apocalypse thriller in which one infected citizen spreads his disease from person to person until it reaches epidemic proportions.

For a few months, I adopted Rich’s bleak outlook.  He had resigned himself to being terminally single, trudging through town like he was on a feature-length episode of The Walking Dead, and I limped along next to him.  After all, a few facts were on his side.

1) The percentage of people who are gay.  While there is no universally agreed upon reporting of what portion of the world’s population identifies as homosexual, it’s widely believed that 10% is a reasonable, if likely inflated, number.  That figure represents a relatively small dating circle.  So, if love is, in fact, largely a numbers game – the odds are against us.  Rich certainly wasn’t wrong about that.

2) The ghettoization of gay communities.  Sure, LGBT men and woman make their homes in a variety of cities across the world, but there are inarguably locations that are known for having a considerable number of gay residents.  You are certain to find more gay folks in New York City, Fort Lauderdale and San Francisco than in, say, Jackson Hole, Montgomery and Milwaukee.  Circling within these concentrated locations makes running into people with whom you (or your ex) have some type of shared history a likelihood.

3) Birds of a feather.  Within these areas that are home to large numbers of gay men and women, people tend to congregate with those who are similar or whom they find most attractive.  For example, you’ll run into bears and the men who love them at specific hot spots.  Likewise, if Twinkerbell is your kind of guy, you’ll probably be hanging out at a dance club that draws youthful looking man-boys.  This further compartmentalization of the “gay ghettos” will, without a doubt, put you face-to-face with the same group of men time and time again.  It’s a “Mary-go-round” to nowhere, as Rich would explain it.

***

While not one of those points in particular accounted for my friend’s dismal point-of-view on dating following the dissolution of a relationship, they cumulatively made a compelling argument.  The truth was, though, I wanted to love again.  I wanted to be social within my community.  I wanted to let go of the discomfort that was attached to running into men from my past.

What I didn’t want to do was relocate.  But, how was I going to escape from the dystopian George Romero movie that Rich was projecting onto me?  It was a rare few who survived until the end credits of those films.

“You’re going to take a deep breath and really think about your sensibilities,” my friend Georgeann scolded, after I told her about Rich’s dire “end of the world” warnings. 

She was right; it was time to reframe my thinking.  I needed to rejoin the land of the living.  I had to cancel my subscription to Rich’s issues and remind myself that it was OK to feel comfortable in familiar surroundings, regardless of my histories with the other people around me.  Part of that meant not being so rigid about what kinds of men might make me happy.

To be clear, getting back on the dating scene wasn’t as easy as putting one foot in front of the other.  I had to build up the confidence to walk into the local haunts that my ex and I enjoyed together.  I challenged myself once a week to pop into the restaurants and bars that had been part of my past — and remain until I finished a meal or drink by myself.  It was intimidating at first, and it took every ounce of my willpower to stay seated for an hour.

Practice paid off; I became more secure after only a couple of months.  Yes, there were those awkward moments when I’d make eye contact with a man I’d dated previously or a guy who’d had a one-night stand with my ex years before, but they weren’t fatal.  Those brief but civil interactions didn’t deliver the crushing blows that Rich told me were inevitable.

I also widened my scope of interest when it came to specific types of guys.  I definitely still appreciated the All-American, collegiate-looking boy-next-door, but I found that venturing into new establishments put some other appealing men in my pathway.  Who’d have thought that I could be attracted to a bearded hipster in Silver Lake, never mind a husky biker whose leather jacket smelled like a good time?  I wouldn’t have even imagined it myself had I not listened to Georgeann and stepped out of my comfort zone.

And what about Rich?  We have maintained a close friendship, and he delights in offering me his perspective on just about every life subject.  Not surprisingly, though, he remains single while my weekend evenings have gotten pretty busy.  I guess it’s just a matter of whether we choose to let the facts work for us or against us.

JOSH SABARRA is the best-selling author of PORN AGAIN: A MEMOIR, and his work appears regularly in Gay Times and The Huffington Post. He is a veteran marketing executive and television producer who has held positions at The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Studios, Miramax Films, New Line Cinema, and Lifetime Networks. Josh  resides in Los Angeles, where he is the president and CEO of his own public relations firm, Breaking News PR. Follow him on Twitter @JoshSabarra.
Josh Sabarra

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/11/19/gay-dating-pool-small-not-hopeless

REVIEW: Forge & Co – Shoreditch, London

Forge & Co holds a prominent place on London’s Shoreditch High Street.

A large, modern, stylish open space with an impressive bar and a combination of tables and couches.

This is the kind of place that offers something for whatever time of day you’re passing – from breakfast, through lunch, dinner, and into late night cocktails. There’s even a long work-table which seemed to be filled with the local freelancing office-less community.

I was dodging the rain on a wintry Thursday morning and so called in for breakfast. It was perfect. Friendly, professional service, good coffee, excellent wifi, and a plate of poached eggs that set me up nicely for the day ahead.

There’s a lot to love about Shoreditch, and Forge & Co is definitely one of the highlights.

Read more from Gareth Johnson

Read more restaurant reviews

The post REVIEW: Forge & Co – Shoreditch, London appeared first on Gay Star News.

Gareth Johnson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/review-forge-co-shoreditch-london/

Judge Allegedly Swapped Sex, Spankings With Men For Lighter Sentences

Joseph Boeckmann, an Arkansas judge, has been accused of engaging in sex with young white male offenders in exchange for drastically reduced sentences.

The district judge in Cross County now faces an ethics complaint, which claims he gave preferential treatment to a number of defendants who completed “work” at his residence — which almost always involved performing sexual favors.

According to the ethics complaint, Boeckman made offenders perform “substituionary sentences,” asking them to “contact him to present their ‘trash pick up’ requirements at either his office or his home.”

“My staff has gone through thousands of pages of documents, court records, checks,” said Davis Sachar, executive director of the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. “That will be part of the case.”

He mentioned “there are still some determinations to be made.”

Boeckmann also allegedly had child pornography on his computer.

He apparently paid one defendant to let him take nude photographs of him over a five-year period.

Allegedly, he also had sexual relations with a young defendant who shacked up at Boeckmann’s home.

The judge allegedly showered the man with gifts — he bought him cars, the complaint suggests, and even a boat — and he would regularly pay his families’ rent and utility bills.

He’d spank the defendant regularly for sexual pleasure, or “as for punishment to A.A. for his criminal conduct,” the complaint reads. “A.A. received money for this conduct if the spankings were sought for Boeckmann’s pleasure.”

Arkansasonline.com reports that Boeckmann can’t be removed from office, despite the severity of the accusations.

The judge has yet to comment on any of the allegations, and has 30 days to respond to the complaint.

Read the complaint in its entirety below.

H/t: LGBTQ Nation

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/hGYw8UVNOnk/judge-allegedly-swapped-sex-spankings-with-men-for-lighter-sentences-20151119

Getting Intimate With Nathan Fillion

After a series of unsuccessful TV shows, the world finally discovered the wonder of Nathan Fillion when he starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the cult hit series Firefly. Then came the Firefly movie, Serenity, and a memorable cinematic turn as a love-struck, unfaithful doctor in Waitress. Currently, Fillion has a starring role in the enduring crime drama/comedy Castle. The Canadian-born actor, as reknown for his tweets (3.37 million followers!) as his acting, recently reunited with Firefly costar Alan Tudyk for the super-popular webseries Con Man, in which the guys send up their own geeky path to fame (oh, and for the gay gamers out there, Fillion also provides the voice of Edward Buck in the latest Halo game). Fillion turned his legendary charm on us to talk to us about his expansive work.

The Advocate: Hi, Nathan. Tell me about Con Man; how much input did you have into your character, which seems mostly based on the real you?
Fillion: I would love to take full credit, but this is a thing that Alan Tudyk has been thinking about for years and just finally put it together, and the way in which Alan writes, he really leaves no stone unturned. You can certainly add a little tidbit here or there for dimension, but you have a fully fleshed-out character by the time Alan hands you the script. So, I wish I could take more credit, but Alan will probably read this, and then I’ll hear about it for sure.

Is the show indeed based on real experiences?
It’s a heightened reality, for sure, but it’s merely a parody of what we think a super successful celebrity would be like. And at the same time, there is a kernel of truth in it. The fact that Wray Nerely and Jack Moore never get to see each other except on Facetime. That’s not very far from the truth. I’ve been working on a network television show for eight years. I rarely get a chance to see my friends. We keep very odd hours here on a show, and it’s hard to nail down time just to see your friends for months at a time. 

Did you see Alan during the filming of Con Man, or was it all remote?
No, no, I was there. In the scenes I’m in, Alan was there directing. And while Alan was directing, I was there hanging out for the first few days of the shoot just to show some support. Alan pretends like he needs people around him, but really he doesn’t. He had it handled, and it was very impressive. It was his first shot at directing something like this, and he really handled it very well. His crew plainly loved him. It was really neat to see, because he really appreciated his crew, and his crew really seemed to appreciate him. Boy, he really loved those people.

I’ve been a big fan of both of you since Firefly, and it’s really fun to see you back together again.
Aw, thanks for that. And you know, it’s funny too, because people say that and Alan and I are best buddies. We’ve been hanging out for the past 13 years, and when people say, “It’s nice to see you back together again,” we kinda snicker, because we’ve been hanging out all this time.

In the show, Wray deals with overzealous fans who feel an ownership over him. Is that something you go through?
Absolutely. And you know what? I completely understand it. I think about TV shows I really like: Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead. I feel a sense of ownership for those shows. [People say], “I gotta get home and watch MY shows.” We even speak about it in terms of ownership. So it is a strangeness that I actually relate to and understand. You’re spending time in people’s living rooms for however long that might be. An hour a week. Or if they’re gonna watch a movie, if they’re gonna binge watch your entire series, you’re in their living room. You’re a part of their home. They feel familiar.

Do you often get hit on by gay male fans?
I don’t get hit on often by any fans. A flirt now and again. But I have had some very nice compliments from gay male fans, yes.

And how do you feel about that?
A compliment is a compliment. I take ‘em where I can get ‘em, Robbie.

Which of your projects do you get recognized for the most?
It’s a tossup. Castle is certainly a big deal to my career and the recognition factor. But I’m not out in the world much to experience that, unless I go to sci/fi conventions, at which point it’s a tossup between Castle and Firefly. Firefly, having been canceled 13 years ago, is very strange in that it keeps getting more and more fans every year. Younger and younger people are coming up to me saying how much they love it, and I can’t believe it. I’m so grateful for that experience.

It’s definitely a cultural phenomenon. You have somewhat of a following among gays for your dreamboat role in Waitress.
Is that right?

Yeah, we love that movie! Can you tell me about deciding to do it?
You know, I thought it would be a very cute movie. I was really looking forward to the chance to be working with Keri Russell and Cheryl Hines. Jeremy [Sisto] I had known from before and hadn’t had a chance to work with him. I had no idea just how cute it was going to be. That movie works out really well. I always point out to people that they think it’s a pure and wonderful love story and I say, “Just a reminder: these are two married people, and they’re both having extramarital affairs, and you’re rooting for them.” That’s how sweet and cute, and really wonderfully, Adrienne Shelly handled that subject matter. It made it okay to the extent that we actually root for these people to cheat on their spouses.

Yes. And the ending of that was such an interesting choice. It’s a surprisingly feminist film. Thanks for making that one.
It was a pleasure.

Do you have a man crush?
Umm, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper. Who else do I think is really great? Both of the Wilson brothers. Who else? There was somebody I was just watching the other day and they were amazing…

You led off with three Marvel actors, and I know you had a small part in Guardians of the Galaxy. Is that your run for superheroes, or–
Tom Hiddleston! Tom Hiddleston! That was the one! Did I mention him?

Another Marvel man. Do you have aspirations to play a superhero?
I think all the really great heroes have been taken. And they’ve really done some wonderful jobs with goofy heroes. When Ant-Man came out I thought, “this is really a lower-rung hero for comics.” That movie was spectacular. Boy, Paul Rudd? I like to think I’m a charming guy. That Paul Rudd makes me look like an idiot man-child, he’s so charming. It’s so neat to watch him. But I would certainly think that for every superhero out there, there’s gotta be at least 50 villains. I think I’d like to take a crack. All the heroes are out there. Give me a villain.

Is there anything that you’d like to say to your gay fans?
Say it loud, say it proud (laughs).

Robbie X Pierce

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/11/19/getting-intimate-nathan-fillion

Congress forms task force to address anti-trans violence

The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus of the US House of Representatives has formed a Transgender Equality Task Force, which on Tuesday (17 November) held the first congressional forum on violence against transgender people.

The bipartisan committee is chaired by California state Representative Mike Honda, whose eight-year-old granddaughter is transgender.

As the proud grandpa of a transgender grandchild, I hope she can feel safe at school without fear of being bullied. pic.twitter.com/NDIfOdW9sk

— Rep. Mike Honda (@RepMikeHonda) February 18, 2015

‘It is our responsibility as leaders and public officials to ensure that all people are free from the fear of persecution, prejudice, or violence just for being who they are,’ he said.

‘We work to highlight the issues that transgender individuals face. In this day and age, hatred and prejudice based on one’s actual or perceived sexuality or gender identity.’

There have been 22 reported murders of transgender woman of color this year alone, up from 16 in 2014.

‘When I meet with the transgender community, they say: “Listen to us,”‘ said Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi.

‘That’s what this task force is set up to do: to listen, to learn, to be informed, to act upon the transgender experience.’

The post Congress forms task force to address anti-trans violence appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/congress-forms-task-force-to-address-anti-trans-violence/

Hong Kong authorities are refusing to count gay couples in its 2016 census

Officials in Hong Kong have decided to leave same-sex couples off next year’s census – arguing that some will be too afraid to disclose their relationship in front of family members and that no data is better than inaccurate data on the make up of Hong Kong’s population.

Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department (CSD) recorded that there were 7,495 people living in a same-sex household that were not blood relatives in 2011.

However in the 2016 census people will still only be able to record their relationship status as ‘never been married, [heterosexually] married, widowed, divorced or separated.’

CSD deputy commissioner Stephen Leung said the decision not to record same-sex relations was made in consultation with government departments and social welfare organizations.

Leung said census data had to be accurate if it was going to be useful in formulating government policy and the CSD believes most gay and lesbian couples would not disclose their relationship in front of relatives.

However LGBT group Rainbow of Hong Kong said the decision to not allow same-sex couples to record their relationships was a form of censorship which cuts that section of the community out of being able to take part in policy formation by the government.

Rainbow of Hong Kong spokesperson Yeung Chu-wing told Ejinsight that he personally knew of people who had tried to record their same-sex relationships during the last Hong Kong census in 2011 but were told they had submitted wrong information.

Chu-wing said that it was excluding same-sex couples from the census that will undermine its accuracy not asking them that question.

Hong Kong has been a self-governing special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China since it was handed back to China by the United Kingdom in 1997.

The post Hong Kong authorities are refusing to count gay couples in its 2016 census appeared first on Gay Star News.

Andrew Potts

www.gaystarnews.com/article/hong-kong-authorities-are-refusing-to-count-gay-couples-in-its-2016-census/