Charles M. Blow, Scientology, Usher, ‘Lucifer in the Flesh’, HERO, Cameron Dallas: NEWS

CRUZ FIORINA 2016. NYT columnist Charles M. Blow hilariously dissects this ‘Hail Mary’ move.

TELL ALL. Scientology head David Miscavige may sue his own father to stop tell all book about him from coming out.

SOCIAL MEDIA. Usher gave his followers on Snapchat an eye-full with a rather revealing snap (slightly work-unfriendly). 

NORTH CAROLINA. HB 2 repeal bill sent to state Senate committee…that apparently never meets: “[The bill’s] second assigned stop is the Senate Ways and Means Committee – which is something of an inside joke in the Senate. The three-member Ways and Means Committee hasn’t held a meeting in years. It’s widely known as the graveyard of the Senate – the place where Senate Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca sends legislation that he wants to kill.”

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY. Jane Sanders does some Monday morning quarterbacking: “I think if [Bernie] was running against anybody but Hillary Clinton, who was the anointed one, who is the most well-known person that is running for office in this country and in the world— She has a good relationship with the African-American community that goes back decades. So that hurts us, helps her.”

HOUSTON. Months after HERO’s defeat, new poll shows overwhelming support for equal rights: “The 35th annual Houston Area Survey, from Rice University’s Kinder Institute, also found that 74 percent of Black residents, who voted overwhelmingly against the ordinance Nov. 4, believe it is “very important” for the city to pass a nondiscrimination law. ”

TRUSTED? John Boehner refers to Ted Cruz as “Lucifer in the flesh”: “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” Audio here:

LOUISIANA. LGBT anti-discrimination bill advances in state senate: “Past efforts to pass related LGBT anti-discrimination state laws have failed, but New Orleans and Shreveport have passed anti-discrimination ordinances. Gov. John Bel Edwards has enacted similar anti-discrimination provisions for state agencies and contractors. At the time of the issuance, the Democratic governor said the order reflected a ‘respective and inclusive’ Louisiana.”

WORLD. Airstrike hits Doctors Without Borders hospital in Syria: “The airstrike killed at least 50 people, according to Pablo Marco, operations manager for Doctors Without Borders in the Middle East. Marco told CNN that at least six of the dead were hospital staff: Two doctors, two nurses, one guard and one maintenance worker. The death toll could still rise. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the attack and pointed a finger of blame at the Syrian government.”

SOAKED. 21-year-old Vine star Cameron Dallas stars in new Calvin Klein ads. 

THURSDAY THIRST. Brought to you by Tony Brown.

The post Charles M. Blow, Scientology, Usher, ‘Lucifer in the Flesh’, HERO, Cameron Dallas: NEWS appeared first on Towleroad.

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Log Cabin Republicans Explain How They Balance Being Gay and Conservative (Video)

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/4/28/log-cabin-republicans-explain-how-they-balance-being-gay-and-conservative-video

Neil Patrick Harris asks: ‘Why aren’t we talking about HIV/AIDS?’

Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, and Daniel Franzese are all part of a new Public Service Announcement that focuses on the fight against HIV/ AIDS not being over.

But the biggest star on the video is the late Elizabeth Taylor whose famous speech at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute concert is featured to give context to the ongoing fight against a disease for which there are life-saving treatments but still no cure.

‘…The world needs you to live,’ says Taylor who spent the last 25 years of her life as an HIV/AIDS activist.

Lane points out in the video that in major US cities, one in five gay men are living with HIV.

‘HIV infection rates are up 133% in last decade among young gay men,’ says Joel Goldman, managing director of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation who did the video with GLAAD.

‘It’s troubling that 1 in 3 gay men have never had an HIV test,’ Goldman adds. ‘We must find new ways of raising awareness in order to reach this community and inform them of the tools available to prevent new infections.’

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis has high hopes for the PSA.

‘This campaign will help bring more awareness HIV and AIDS and remind everyone that we have the power to end this epidemic in our lifetime.’

The post Neil Patrick Harris asks: ‘Why aren’t we talking about HIV/AIDS?’ appeared first on Gay Star News.

www.gaystarnews.com/article/neil-patrick-harris-among-stars-asking-arent-talking-hivaids/

As If By Magic, Another Harry Potter Actor Grew Up To Be A Hunk

It was widely reported that Matthew Lewis, the English actor who played the goofy, semi-awkward Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter series, had been treated pretty nicely by puberty and basically turned into a certified dreamboat overnight.

But now it’s a more villainous HP character turning heads across the web — 28-year-old Josh Herdman, who played Slytherin bully Gregory Goyle.

Here he is from the film:

And here he is now, covered in tattoos and ready to kick some ass:

Hello, shorts.

He’s gone from beating people up at Draco Malfoy’s behest to doing it for himself as an MMA fighter, and while we hardly condone pummeling someone to a pulp inside a cage, he’s apparently quite good at it.

Here he is in action:

And here he is surprising Draco with his literacy:

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House Republicans Move to Undo Obama’s LGBT Executive Order Against Job Bias with a ‘Religious Freedom’ Amendment

A House Republican panel is trying to sneak a “religious freedom” amendment into a major defense bill that would undermine President Obama’s 2014 executive order prohibiting anti-LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors, the Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson reports:

The amendment, introduced by freshman Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla., pictured), would require the federal government when contracting with religious organizations to afford them exemptions consistent with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the American with Disabilities Act. Since neither of those laws prohibit anti-LGBT bias, the amendment would enable religious organizations doing business with the U.S. government to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Because the measure would have the force of law, it would overrule the executive order signed by President Obama in 2014 prohibiting contractors doing more than $10,000 a year in business with the U.S. government from engaging in anti-LGBT discrimination against employees. The president included no religious exemption in his order, although he left in place a Bush-era exemption allowing religious organizations contracting with the U.S. government to favor co-religionists in hiring practices.

The amendment provides an exemption for “any religious corporation, religious association, religious educational institution or religious society” contracting with the U.S. government. All of those terms are undefined in the amendment, but the lack of definition for “religious corporation” could allow courts to construe the term broadly to any federal contractor — not just religious organizations — in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in the Hobby Lobby case.

The Human Rights Campaign denounced the move:

“Rep. Russell’s harmful amendment would strip away existing protections for LGBT workers by undermining President Obama’s executive order on LGBT non-discrimination protections in federal contracting,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “Evidently some House Republicans want to emulate their state legislative colleagues in undermining legal protections for LGBT Americans. House Republican Leadership must get this language out of the bill.”

The Russell amendment was approved by a vote of 33-29 early this morning. It would allow sweeping, taxpayer-funded discrimination in an attempt to promote anti-LGBT religious-based discrimination in the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. With far-reaching intended and unintended consequences, the vague amendment could even undermine existing nondiscrimination provisions that protect workers, and perhaps even beneficiaries, against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more.

Johnson adds:

The next opportunity to remove the amendment will be through a floor amendment when the full House considers the measure, but the House Rules Committee would first have to approve the measure, which would be challenging because the panel is stacked heavily in favor of Republicans. If not a House floor vote, the next opportunity to remove the measure will be the conference committee when the House and Senate lawmakers hammer out the different versions of their legislation.

The post House Republicans Move to Undo Obama’s LGBT Executive Order Against Job Bias with a ‘Religious Freedom’ Amendment appeared first on Towleroad.

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Congress Urges Questions on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Added to American Community Survey

Yesterday, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director John Thompson requesting that the Census Bureau include questions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity on the American Community Survey (ACS). An additional 70 Representatives and nine Senators signed the letter.

The ACS is an ongoing survey of roughly 3.5 million people that provides important information on people living in the U.S. The survey plays a key role in determining how more than $400 billion federal and state funds are distributed. Currently, the ACS collects information about respondents’ race, ethnicity, sex, marital status and other demographic information, but fails to collect information on sexual orientation or gender identity. The lack of data on the LGBT population is a significant barrier to improving services and programs that impact the LGBT community and addressing the LGBT populations’ unique challenges.

HRC has long advocated for better data collection regarding the LGBT population. Several U.S. agencies have already taken steps to do so including the Department of Education, which has added sexual orientation and gender identity questions to the 2016 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS); the Department of Health and Human Services, which added sexual orientation and gender identity data collection to its requirements for Electronic Health Records (EHRs) certified under the Meaningful Use program; and the FBI, which collects statistics on hate crimes committed based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics, in its annual Hate Crimes Statistics reports.

HRC applauds Congressman Grijalva and Senator Baldwin’s letter and calls on the Census Bureau to add questions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity on the ACS.

www.hrc.org/blog/congress-urges-questions-on-sexual-orientation-gender-identity-added-to-ame?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

George Takei thanks a diverse Broadway community – blasts Hollywood

Star Trek icon George Takei has some harsh words for the movie industry as he praises Broadway for having such a diverse year.

In a Facebook post today, Takei writes: ‘…Thanks to the Broadway community – for not being Hollywood. ‘In a year when the movie industry celebrated only white actors for awards, then used gross stereotypes of Asians during the (Academy Awards) broadcast to gain cheap laughs, Broadway celebrated its most diverse year ever.’

Takei pointed to such shows as Hamilton, The Color Purple, On Your Feet, Shuffle Along and his own Allegiance as examples of Broadway’s diversity this season.

The openly gay actor pointed out that these shows ‘brought not only underrepresented voices to the stage, but critical employment opportunities for minority actors as well as many new communities and audiences to New York theaters.’

For Takei, performing on Broadway for the first time is deeply personal.

Allegiance is a musical based on his own family’s experiences as Japanese-Americans forcibly relocated to internment camps during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

‘I am especially thankful I have had the opportunity, at the age of 78, to fulfill a lifelong dream to tell the story of the Japanese American internment,’ he writes.

‘Our Broadway production was able to reach 120,000 audience members, the same number as those who were unjustly imprisoned out of base fear and prejudice. Each of those audience members are now part of our story. They will help ensure that we never forget the difficult lessons of the past.’

Takei also takes a swipe as Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump who has touted severe anti-immigration policies during his campaign.

‘Indeed, our show could not have had more contemporary resonance, as certain politicians once again stoke public fears, and call for profiling and surveillance of whole groups of innocent people.’

The post George Takei thanks a diverse Broadway community – blasts Hollywood appeared first on Gay Star News.

www.gaystarnews.com/article/george-takei-thanks-diverse-broadway-community-not-hollywood/

Usher Shows His God-Given Talent In Very Revealing Home Shower Tour

It’s not just the proverbial “kids” who are relentlessly Snapchatting these days, celebrities can overshare too!

Usher recently gave a tour of his crib on the social platform, and it started as you’d expect — realizing Usher is richer than you.

No surprises there:

But then the “Confessions” singer turned the camera on himself, and things got much more interesting:

But then the camera kept moving lower:

Head over to BuzzFeed for the un-cropped image, which Usher tried to censor himself with a smiley face that isn’t big enough to contain his full talent.

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Ten Queens Who Turned Their Drag Careers Into Some Serious Coin

The art form of drag and female impersonation has exploded in popularity over the last decade, driven in part by the remarkable visibility created by RuPaul‘s Drag Race. The show, currently airing its eighth season on Logo, has brought great drag into homes across the world and has changed the game for drag as a profession.

Being a successful drag entertainer in the ear of RuPaul‘s Drag Race is a lot more complicated (and competitive) than ever before. Below is a list of ten fierce queens who have taken the art of drag to the next level. From full-length albums and music videos to international tours and talent management companies, these queens have embraced the state of drag fandom and are turning the art into some serious coin.

Know any business-savvy queens not featured on this list? Tell her story in the comments below.

1. Adore Delano

After finishing in the top three of RuPaul‘s Drag Race season six, Adore Delano‘s music career took off. Having sold out venues around the world, releasing two full-length albums and ten music videos (in just two years), Adore has worked her ass off and is showing no signs of stopping. Both her first album (Till Death Do Us Party) and her second album (After Party) debuted at number one on the iTunes dance charts, solidifying her place in music history. Plus, she’s the queen of merch: from posters and shirts to cell phone cases, Adore knows how to make them coins!

Related: Adore Delano Goes Full-On ’80s In “Give Me Tonight”

2. Alyssa Edwards

Alyssa Edwards was a business-savvy queen well before her run on RuPaul‘s Drag Race season five. In addition to running her Texas-based dance studio, Beyond Belief, she was taking the drag pageant scene by storm. Since her time on Drag Race, Alyssa has toured the world and Alyssa’s Secret, her WOWPresents YouTube show, remains one World of Wonder’s longest running web series, with each episode garnering over 100,000 views. In late 2015, Alyssa and two of her “drag children” (Gia Gunn and Laganja Estranja) were the opening act for Miley Cyrus during her Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz album tour.

There no denying that three years after her run on Drag Race, Alyssa still remains one of the highest profile queens to come from the show.

Related: Alyssa Edwards Has Major Crown-Snatching Deja Vu

3. Coco Peru

Coco Peru has been in the drag game for over 25 years, having started in the New York scene before the internet made getting the word out about a drag event easier. In a recent interview with Queerty, Coco shared how she used to create a buzz about her show:

“Back when I started drag, I used to go out every night and have to hand out postcards. I made a stencil and would spray paint on the sidewalks in New York City – not realizing it was illegal. Well.. maybe I did on some level, because I did it in dark clothes at two in the morning. I spray-painted all over the city ‘Miss Coco Peru. She knows.’ People would look at that and think, “Who the hell is Miss Coco Peru and what does she know?” But it created a buzz. You had to do that back then because there was no internet.”

Coco’s smarts have filled her 25-year drag career with a variety of high-profile gigs, from starring in the 1995 Cult film To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, to touring the world with her one-woman act. Coco has done it all, and, if you want to see her perform live, we recommend you heed her advice: “I encourage people to come [see me live] if they have the opportunity because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing this.”

Related: 13 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About The Legendary Miss Coco Peru

4. Heklina

Heklina is a business queen through and through. She started the legendary “Trannyshack” shows in San Francisco and then soon began touring them around the world. During the show’s 20-year run, Heklina brought a slew of celebrities, from RuPaul to Lady Gaga, to the Trannyshack stage. Now, Heklina is the owner of Oasis, a San Francisco-based nightclub that hosts regular cabaret shows and drag performances. Through her new weekly show at Oasis, “Mother,” Heklina continues the Trannyshack legacy.

Additionally, Heklina and her drag queen bestie, Peaches Christ (see below), host regular traveling events that take drag on the road (and even the high seas!). The “Mothership” events, as they are appropriately named, take a bus (or cruise ship) of drag queens to various places that are easily accessible from her home base of San Francisco.

Related: PHOTOS: The Golden Girls Have A Holiday Secret In SF — They’re Drag Queens

5. Horrorchata

Horrorchata (c’mon, don’t you just love that name!?) is a New York queen and the founder of Razor 5000, the biggest underground queer dance party in Brooklyn. She also co-founded the Bushwig Festival, the only drag festival in Brooklyn and the festival to which Lady Bunny passed down the Wigstock torch. In addition, Horrorchata is also a fierce drag DJ who has brought music to hundreds of parties across the United States and Europe, including the legendary Tranny Olympics in London.

Related: Drag Queens Modeling Old Lady Bathing Suits Is The Best Thing You’ll See Today, Or Ever

6. Latrice Royale

Large and in charge. Chunky yet funky. Bold and beautiful. Latrice motha-f*ckin’ Royale!

As one of the most beloved (and most quotable) queens to come from RuPaul‘s Drag Race, Latrice is more than just a big personality. In addition to touring around the world with her drag act, Latrice is also the owner of LRI Talent and Management, a management company that represents “the finest in Female Impersonation and Live Entertainment for any party or event.” The agency currently manages a variety of entertainers, including Kennedy Davenport, Jaidynn Dior Fierce, T.S. Madison and more.

On top of all that, Latrice is also a musical artist. She recently released her first album, Here’s to Life, which features six beautiful and hilarious songs that showcase her vocal talents (now available on Amazon and iTunes *wink*). Eat it!

Related: Latrice Royale, Mimi Imfurst and Coco Peru Discuss The Impact ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Has Had On Drag Entertainment

7. Mimi Imfurst

In addition to being an amazing stage performer (trust us, if you haven’t seen her live yet, you NEED to at some point), Mimi Imfurst is a hard working business woman. Self-described as “the hardest working bitch in show business,” Mimi recently launched a national drag tour, The Divas of Drag, that features 18 fierce queens, including several RuPaul‘s Drag Race‘s queens and other talented non-Drag Race queens. The first run of the tour concluded on April 17th, but more tour dates are expected to be announced soon.

Beyond the stage, Mimi is another queen with a passion for music. In mid-March she released her debut album, The Fire, which she funded with the help of nearly 250 contributors on Indiegogo. The full-length rock ‘n roll album features 10 original tracks and is available now on iTunes.

Related: Mimi Imfurst Releases New Album, Shares Emotional Details Of Becoming A Homeless Teenager

8. Peaches Christ

If you are ever lucky enough to be in San Francisco during the run of a Peaches Christ original production, do yourself a favor get a ticket. (Insider Tip: The VIP treatment is definitely worth it if you can afford it!). The historic Castro Theatre plays home to all of Peaches’ legendary shows, with recent shows starring well-known queens including Katya Zamolodchikova, Willam, Latrice Royale, Bianca Del Rio, Heklina, Alaska Thunderfuck, Sharon Needles, Honey Mahogany and more. Visit Peaches’ website and subscribe to her newsletter to learn about upcoming shows – because you never know when she’ll be taking a show on tour and bringing it to a city near you.

Can’t get to a Peaches show? No problem, you can bring her home to enjoy. As another queen of merch, Peaches’ web store is stocked with several of her original films, a fabulously creepy Peaches costume mask, original Peaches music and so much more.

Related: Peaches Christ Salutes Classic Hollywood And Proves There’s No Place Like Frameline

9. RuPaul

RuPaul. The MOTHA of drag. From film and television to music and podcasting, when it comes to being an entertainer, RuPaul has done it all. Her Wikipedia page lists 29 television credits, 22 film credits, 17 short film credits, nine award nominations and two published books. Is there any other drag queen who could convince tens of thousands of people to gather in Los Angeles for a two-day drag queen convention (aptly named RuPaul’s DragCon)?

That’s RuPaulsDragCon.com.

Related: RuPaul On Doing Things His Way And The Subversive Power Of His New Game Show ‘Gay For Play’

10. Shangela

This list would not be complete without Miss Shangela. This former RuPaul‘s Drag Race star is doing and has done it all (seriously). Let’s go through the list:

• Music *check*
• Film *check*
• Television *check*
• Comedy tour *check*
• International drag tour *check*
• One-woman show *check*

Wait that’s not it… we can’t forget to mention that she also owns her own drag queen talent management company, Say What Entertainment. Miss Shangie is a professional and knows how to make them coins.

Related: Shangela Spoofs Bruno Mars’ ‘Uptown Funk’ in Sickening New Music Video!

Want to meet these fabulous queens? All 10 of the queens listed above will be at the second annual RuPaul’s DragCon, coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center from May 7-8. Plus, come find Queerty and Dragaholic at booth 702 for your chance to win some fierce drag prizes! #SeeYouAtDragCon

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Gay Romantic Drama ‘Holding The Man’ Chronicles 15 Years of Love and Loss – TRAILER

A new trailer for the romantic gay drama Holding The Man has debuted and, if the teaser is any indication, it looks to be a tear jerker.

The film follows two young men who meet and fall in love at school as boys. Their relationship grows and lasts over 15 years as each struggles to deal with bigotry, family intolerance, and growing up.

Holding The Man is based on the 1995 memoir of the same name by by Australian writer, actor, and activist Timothy Conigrave. Conigrave passed away a year before the book would be published. It would also go on to be adapted as a play.

The film stars newcomers Ryan Corr and Craig Stott. Neil Armfield directs from a screenplay by Tommy Murphy.

Watch the trailer (which is briefly work-unfriendly), below.

[h/t Attitude]

The post Gay Romantic Drama ‘Holding The Man’ Chronicles 15 Years of Love and Loss – TRAILER appeared first on Towleroad.

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