Chris Christie Probably Wouldn't Sign Anti-Trans 'Bathroom Bill'
Asked about a North Carolina–style law, Christie sings a different tune than he once did on the issue.
www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/4/25/chris-christie-probably-wouldnt-sign-anti-trans-bathroom-bill
In protest of HB2, Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato cancel North Carolina concerts
Staunch LGBTI allies Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato have canceled upcoming concerts in North Carolina because of HB2, the new law which bans all local LGBTI rights ordinances in the state.
‘We know the cancellation of these shows is disappointing to our fans, but we trust that you will stand united with us against this hateful law,’ Jonas and Lovato said in a Facebook post.
The pair’s Honda Civic Tour: Future Now had scheduled stops in Charlotte and Raleigh.
‘One of our goals for the tour has always been to create an atmosphere where every single attendee feels equal, included and accepted for who they are,’ they stated.
‘North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law is extremely disappointing, and it takes away some of the LGBT community’s most basic rights and protections. But we will not allow this to stop is from continuing to make progress for equality and acceptance.’
HB2 was pushed forward to override an ordinance in Charlotte that would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom of their gender identification.
Artists including Boston, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, and Blue Man Group have called off gigs in the Tar Heel State. Cyndi Lauper, Joel McHale, and Mumford & Sons performed (or will in the future), promising to donate funds to local LGBTI organizations.
The post In protest of HB2, Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato cancel North Carolina concerts appeared first on Gay Star News.
www.gaystarnews.com/article/protest-hb2-nick-jonas-demi-lovato-cancel-north-carolina-concerts/
Dolly Speaks Out On NC’s Anti-LGBT Legislation: “I Can Address That From The Stage”
Dolly Parton announced today that she’s kicking off the first leg of her highly anticipated summer tour in Greensboro, NC. The state’s controversial anti-LGBT House Bill 2, which prevents transgender people from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and strikes down local LGBT non-discrimination ordinances throughout the state, has effectively politicized the summer concert season. Acts like Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen have canceled shows in North Carolina, while Cyndi Lauper announced that she would donate all profits from her June 4 concert in Raleigh to Equality North Carolina in an effort to help repeal the bill.
“Oh, I’ve been seein’ all that commotion,” Parton said today on a conference call promoting the tour and her upcoming double album, Pure & Simple. “A lot of people are canceling shows and all that. I have no plans to cancel the show. I think I serve better from the stage. I think everybody should be treated great and with respect and everybody knows that about me. I can address that from the stage.”
When pressed for her reaction to the current wave of anti-LGBT legislation in states like North Carolina and Mississippi, Parton repeated her intention to play all the shows on her 2016 tour. “Through the years everybody has known that I have an open, generous heart and I believe that all people should be treated with respect,” she reiterated. “I really don’t like to get caught up into controversial issues, and I certainly don’t think it’s fair to the public. I can address whatever my thoughts are, if need be, from the stage.”
Parton’s Pure & Simple Tour is the country legend’s first in over two decades and she promises to play hits like “Jolene,” “Islands in the Stream,” and “9 to 5” alongside gospel tunes and a selection of new songs at the “scaled down” shows. Coming off her much buzzed about CMA performance with Katy Perry last month, Parton there were no plans at the moment to feature special guests like Perry or Taylor Swift on the tour. But, she said, “If they should show up I bet you I wouldn’t refuse ‘em!”
Parton’s Pure & Simple Tour kicks off June 3 in Greensboro, NC. The two-disc album Pure & Simple with Dolly’s Biggest Hits is due sometime this summer.
Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato Cancel North Carolina Shows Over HB 2
Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato have cancelled their upcoming shows in North Carolina in protest against HB 2, the state’s newly passed anti-LGBT law.
Other artists including Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Cirque du Soleil, Boston, Pearl Jam, Blue Man Group have also cancelled shows in the Tar Heel State because of HB 2.
Jonas posted the news on his Facebook timeline on Monday afternoon. Writing “#RepealHB2”, Jonas posted the below note.
Lovato posted the same note on Twitter.
Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina on Monday introduced a bill that if passed would repeal HB 2.
The post Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato Cancel North Carolina Shows Over HB 2 appeared first on Towleroad.
The Newest Opponents Of North Carolina’s Anti-Transgender Law: Faith Groups
“We will not tolerate on our campus discrimination against any child of God, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The post The Newest Opponents Of North Carolina’s Anti-Transgender Law: Faith Groups appeared first on ThinkProgress.
thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/25/3772581/faith-opposition-hb2/
Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas cancel NC tour dates over anti-LGBT law
Getty Images for GLAAD
Multi-platinum selling recording artist Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have canceled their North Carolina tour dates over the state’s recently passed anti-LGBT law known as “HB2.” In a statement released to GLAAD, the pair condemned the law and voiced their support for equality and acceptance:
After much thought and deliberation, Nick and I have decided to cancel our shows in Raleigh and Charlotte. One of our goals for the Honda Civic Tour: Future Now has always been to create an atmosphere where every single attendee feels equal, included, and accepted for who they are.
North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law is extremely disappointing, and it takes away some of the LGBT community’s most basic rights and protections. But we will not allow this to stop us from continuing to make progress for equality and acceptance.
We know the cancelation of these shows is disappointing to our fans, but we trust that you will stand united with us against this hateful law.
#RepealHB2
“Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas continue to be fearless advocates for LGBT equality and acceptance,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “By taking a firm stand against North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law, they’re sending a clear message to fans and lawmakers alike: hate should never be tolerated.”
Earlier this month, Lovato received GLAAD’s Vanguard Award at the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles, in recognition of her work to advance LGBT equality and acceptance. Jonas presented Lovato with the award.
Lovato and Jonas are the latest in a long line of performers — including Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, Boston, Pearl Jam, and more — taking a stand against the discriminatory law. Many others, including corporations and celebrities, have voiced opposition to HB2 as well.
The law asserts the power of the state and overrides all local ordinances addressing employment, wages, or public accommodations, including a recent LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance passed in Charlotte. Access to single-sex public restrooms and locker rooms in publicly run facilities is restricted to people of the same corresponding sex assigned at birth under the new law, and transgender students are banned from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
www.glaad.org/blog/demi-lovato-and-nick-jonas-cancel-nc-tour-dates-over-anti-lgbt-law
180,000 Signatures On Petition Demanding Repeal of North Carolina HB2 (Video)
Harvey Fierstein to reprise role of Edna Turnblad for NBC’s live production of Hairspray
Harvey Fierstein is stepping back into the drab housedress of Edna Turnblad for NBC’s Hairspray Live!
It’s a role he’s very familiar with since he played it on Broadway and won a Tony Award for his performance as the reclusive mother of a curvaceous young woman who challenges prejudices in 1960s Baltimore after winning a spot on a local dance show.
The role of Edna has traditionally been played by a man in previous incarnations of Hairspray on stage and screen.
Divine played the role in the original 1988 John Waters film opposite Rikki Lake as the daughter, Tracy.
Then in 2007, John Travolta was Edna in a hugely successful musical remake in which Nikki Blonsky played Tracy.
Fierstein starred in the 2002 Broadway production and won a Tony Award for best lead actor in a musical. Bruce Vilanch is among the actors who have also played Edna on stage.
Although Tracy has yet to be cast – the tradition has been for the role to go to an unknown – it was also announced Monday (25 April) that Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson has been added to the cast as Motormouth Maybelle, the owner of a local record store, who was portrayed on the big screen by Ruth Brown (1988) and Queen Latifah (2007).
‘Harvey Fierstein created the role of Edna Turnblad on Broadway in an indelible Tony-winning performance that demanded to be memorialized on film, and we’re happy he wanted to step into her shoes one last, unforgettable time,’ NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said in a statment.
‘We’re also so grateful that the incomparable Jennifer Hudson will play Motormouth Maybelle and we know her rendition of I Know Where I’ve Been will literally stop the show.’
Hudson, currently starting on Broadway in The Color Purple, is no stranger to show- stopping musical numbers. Her powerful rendition of I’m Telling You I’m Not Going is considered the high point of her Oscar winning performance in the feature film version of Dreamgirls.
The TV musical, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, will be directed by Alex Rudzinski who received great acclaim earlier this year for Grease Live!
The show will air on NBC on 7 December as part of the network’s tradition of doing a love musical during the holiday season.
It follows live productions of The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz.
The post Harvey Fierstein to reprise role of Edna Turnblad for NBC’s live production of Hairspray appeared first on Gay Star News.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Has Sort Of Killed Drag For Queens Who Are Not On The Show
Photographer Credit: Davide Laffe
It’s no secret that RuPaul’s Drag Race has seriously changed the drag scene since it premiered eight years ago. If you’re a drag queen today, or you know somebody who is, the pinnacle of success seems to be getting on the show, being put in front of a large drag-loving audience and then traveling the world to show them your act. But for the queens who haven’t yet made it on the show? The struggle is real.
**SPOILER ALERT** RuPaul‘s Drag Race season 8 fan favorite, Thorgy Thor, talked with us after her recent elimination and shared her take on how the show has changed the drag scene. As a queen who started doing drag before the show started, she has been around long enough to see how drag has changed.
There is so much to this interview that make it worth a full read, but Thorgy’s thoughts on how the show has changed the scene can be summed up with this quote: “The goal now is to get on TV so more people see you, and it just so happens to be RuPaul’s Drag Race has sort of killed drag for queens who are not on the show. I’ve heard this over and over, and felt it for seven years.”
Before you jump to conclusions, please read the full interview below. Thorgy breaks things down in a way that is easily digestible and is not meant to be an attack on RuPaul or the show. Enjoy!
Queerty: Hi Thorgy, how have you been since your elimination?
Thorgy: Good. Busy. I had been doing a viewing party in Brooklyn every single Monday and I knew I was getting eliminated this week, so I just had to have the balls to show up and watch it with everybody, and I did. I got received very well and everyone was screaming.
You were one of the fan favorites this season and I’ve seen some pretty angry responses online since you were eliminated. It’s sad to see fans redirect their anger at other queens still in the competition. How do you feel about fans getting angry at Chi Chi DeVayne and Derrick Barry over your elimination?
Oh, is that’s what’s happening? You’re literally the first person to mention it. I didn’t know fans are really hating on Derrick and Chi Chi. I wish they would stop. I wish they would stop hating and stop directing outward toward any of them.
Every character is like a Pokemon… we’re doing our own thing and then we’re pinned against each other in this really intense, horrible competition, which is just like RAAAA! [laughs] We’re just trying to show off our individuality and I think we’ve all done that, so stop hating everybody.
Everyone likes to find their favorite and then shit on everyone else. There’s nothing fun about that.
You were a fan favorite this season, so when you got eliminated, I was definitely shocked.
Yeah, it was a little crappy to watch. It was like UGH. Honestly, when I saw the episode, it was a weight off of my shoulders to be honest. I knew it the whole time when I got back. I didn’t win. Everyone the whole time was like, “You’re my favorite. You’re gonna win. You’re top three. I’m gonna jump off a bridge if you don’t win.” So I was just like, “Oh, thank you,” knowing how well I did. [laughs] I’m not upset. I don’t regret anything.
Photographer Credit: Preston Burford
You are so talented and it showed during your time on the show. Why do you think you second guessed yourself so much, and has that changed since filming?
I have a lot of ideas, so it’s really hard for me to edit when I have so many ideas. The reason why I like this industry so much, and why I do it wholeheartedly, is that I’ve always felt that being a drag artist and an entertainer is the perfect career for people like me who can’t control their creative ideas.
I always thought it was an attribute that was kind of revered and celebrated, and something for people to be jealous of. I was always kind of proud that I was a crazy person and I was artistic and I can’t help it.
If I was a banker or anything else I would fail at it because I couldn’t keep my attention with very mundane things, so doing this is an outlet. It’s embraced me and worked very well for me.
RuPaul’s Drag Race has changed drag so much and has brought it more into the mainstream than ever before, so much so that some people are complaining that it has killed drag. Do you think drag is dead and, if not, what do you think is next for the artform?
No, I don’t think drag is dead. Drag is fun. [laughs] I just feel like the days of YouTube and all these television shows have made it so that people can sit at home and watch, rather than coming out. For me it was always about getting people to come out to the show. Support the queens. Tip the girls. It was that kind of industry. Come out. Come out to the live shows. Now that you can watch everything on TV, it’s kind of killed the going out of it all.
The goal now is to get on TV so more people see you, and it just so happens to be RuPaul’s Drag Race has sort of killed drag for queens who are not on the show. I’ve heard this over and over, and felt it for seven years. People would come to New York, and if Adore Delano was in town they would all flock to that show. Meanwhile, we’re begging and begging for bigger budgets for the clubs and trying to find more money to do better shows in New York. People will pay a $25 ticket and flock to go see one of the Drag Race girls, but they’ll never come out to see all the local girls.
See that and struggling for $50 a night in Brooklyn always pisses you off a little bit. So now it’s a goal to get on TV, that’s why I tell all my girlfriends to audition for the show. I did it, and I’m very happy, and now when I go do a show people come out again.
RuPaul’s Drag Race hasn’t killed drag, but it’s changed the game a whole bunch.
I was a pre-YouTube queen, pre-Drag Race, so I’m sure you could go out there and find some horrible, horrible pictures of me looking terrible with makeup on. Now girls come out who have quit their jobs to become a drag queen, and I’m like, “You’re a fool! What are you talking about?” When I started I was always playing music and running around like a crazy person. I was thinking about myself as a drag artist.
I started doing numbers where I painted my body red and walked in slow motion in the streets for two hours. Then there was this other piece where I did pocket-to-pocket where my whole outfit was made out of a bunch of pockets. I would encourage people that got near me to take something out of their pocket and trade it with something in one of my pockets, like pictures of them and their children that they took out of their wallet or one time I found keys in there. That’s the school that I come from, and now any girl who quits their job and watches Miss Fame’s makeup tutorial on YouTube comes out, looks gorgeous and wants to get paid.
So Drag Race has killed the excitement of being a little sloppy because now the expectations are so much higher. It seems to be really saturated with everyone looking like Miss Fame, and everyone wants to get paid. You laugh, but it’s true. We watched it over the years. It’s over-saturated, it’s too much, gurl.
Photographer Credit: Garrett Matthew
You’ve auditioned for the show time after time, so first of all, congrats on finally making it! Other than the typical “be yourself” advice, what thoughts can you share with queens who are auditioning for future seasons?
Put all your heart and your soul into your audition video. Bring out those outfits in the back of your closet that you keep, you know? You’re like, “Not yet. Not yet.” I would say, if you want to get on the show, it’s more competitive than ever now, so whip out those looks in the video because nobody is going to see your audition video.
Also, just really show your personality. They’re booking you because of you because of something you think they want you to be. Really be true to yourself. Be honest. Be yourself and really go for it.
Who are you rooting for to win?
My opinion has changed a lot, even being on the show. I was kind of intuitive that certain girls were being treated and set up a little different than other girls during the show. I think Bob the Drag Queen and Kim Chi are absolutely going to be in the top two and I think one of them is going to win, but I’m secretly rooting for Naomi Smalls. I just fell in love with her.
Now that you have a worldwide fan base and a very strong brand, what are your future plans for yourself and for continuing to build your brand?
Cool. Good question. Well, I don’t have some big master plan. I’m a very artistic person and I’m also a Gemini, so I pick everyone else’s brains around me. I try to surround myself with really intelligent people and that’s who I’m asking. Like, “What do I do now? What would you do?” So, I’m learning as I go. One step at a time.
Right when I got off the show it got very, very saturated really quick. Everybody wants to see Thorgy and I’m like, “Relax! We don’t have to do everything all at once.” So, it would be one show and another show. I want to pour my heart into things that I really care about, so I can create great works.
I want to do a stage adaptation of Shel Silverstein poems with multimedia things, and I want to change costumes with every poem he wrote and turn into the characters. I want it to be a children’s show and I’d love to tour with that. That’s just one idea. Another idea is doing 80-piece orchestra called the “Thorchestra.” I want to do it at Carnegie Hall, why not? And tour with it.
I want them all to be these big projects where I actually do want people to buy a stupid ticket. Come! Dress up for the red carpet of the Thorchestra at Lincoln Center. It’s a reason for people to go out and dress up and feel special, like, “I got a ticket. I saw that.”
Tune in every Monday at 9/8c to LogoTV to watch the latest episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Straight Man Spills All The Details About Being A Gay Phone Sex Operator
A heterosexual father who once worked as a gay phone sex operator is opening about the experience.
“It was at the off-the-wall shit coming out of these people’s mouths,” the man, speaking anonymously, tells Cracked. “I remember, for example, the first time a caller busted out with the word ‘man-pussy.’ I ask, ‘Your what?’ He replies, ‘My man-pussy. You know, my asshole.’”
Related: Male Sex Workers Reveal The Truth About Their Lives And Clients
The man took the job back in 2000, after responding to classifieds an ad for “actors/actresses wanted” to work at “a nondescript call center” in Miami. It wasn’t until he arrived for the interview that he learned he was auditioning to have sex with strangers over the phone.
Part of the interviewing process included reading the line “I want to eat your big banana” in a sexy voice and with a totally straight face.
“Many of the others auditioning giggled,” the man says. “Each was turned away. But a few others and me managed to do it totally deadpan. That was it–we were hired.”
Once hired, the man had to go through extensive job training.
“We were taught the basics, with emphasis on creating illusions using your voice and getting into character,” he explains. Training also included “professional pointers on how better to simulate a throat-job” and multiple sexual harassment and safety seminars.
“Our bosses repeatedly drilled into us that a serial killer could be targeting us at all times,” he continues. “Keeping us safe was a huge priority, even if only for liability reasons. So we were strictly forbidden from ever making any outside contact with callers or giving them any real information about ourselves. And believe me, there were many callers that tried.”
Related: AL’s Antigay Governor Is One Dirty Talker, According To Leaked Phone Sex Tape
Because of FCC regulations surrounding 900 numbers, several words were off-limits for operators.
“Everything was codes and euphemisms,” the man says. “‘Blowjob’ was out, but ‘tongue bath’ was OK. ‘Sex’ was a no-no, so we’d call it ‘wrestling.’” Instead of asking, ‘How big is your dick?’ I’d ask, ‘How tall are you lying down.’”
Customers, however, could say whatever they wanted.
“The actual callers could reply with the most uncensored, filthy stuff they could think of,” he writes. “It was our job to roll with it, and a good amount of the time they didn’t even notice. A little moaning and flirtatious giggling goes a long way.”
The man was eventually fired after arriving late to work.
“One time, I came in 12 minutes late,” he recalls. “When I got there, they already had someone covering my shift, and they told me I was done there. That was that.”
Despite identifying as straight, he says working as a gay phone sex operator opened his mind to the idea of experimenting with other men.
“When you have guys getting off at the sound of your voice, it’s great on your ego, and it’s easy to lose yourself in the role,” he says. “I wouldn’t call myself bisexual. But months into the job, I found myself becoming more and more let’s call it ‘heteroflexible.’”
Related: The Surprising Results In A New Study On Male Escorts
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