Jaden Smith Kisses The Ideal ’70s Jock

It teases. It taunts. And a new trailer for the upcoming Netflix series The Get Down definitely aims to pique our interest.

In a new clip from Baz Lurhmann’s belabored series, Jaden Smith plays Marcus Kipling, a young man taking his first tenuous steps in a gay bar.

Related: Radar Calls Will Smith’s Alleged Homosexuality “Humiliating” In Shockingly Homophobic Cover Story

As always happens the first time anyone walks nervously into a gay bar, the ideal ’70s jock — Thor, played by Noah Le Gros — shyly comes up to Jaden, peering seductively through touseled tresses before mustering up the courage to lock tremulous lips with the young man.

The music swells, and, as almost always happens in situations such as these, it’s Christina Aguilera — a new track called “Telepathy.”

Related: PHOTOS: Jaden Smith Rocks A Skirt — Just A Skirt — And We’re All About It

Times have changed at lightning speed: Jaden has managed to one-up his father Will Smith, who confessed to Entertainment Weekly that he had to use a stunt double in order to shoot a fleeting kiss with Anthony Michael Hall in 1993’s Six Degrees of Separation:

It was very immature on my part. I was thinking, ‘How are my friends in Philly going to think about this?’ I wasn’t emotionally stable enough to artistically commit to that aspect of the film. In a movie with actors and a director and writer of this caliber, for me to be the one bringing something cheesy to it…. This was a valuable lesson for me. Either you do it or you don’t.”

Related: Radar Calls Will Smith’s Alleged Homosexuality “Humiliating” In Shockingly Homophobic Cover Story

Watch the promo clip here: 

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PHOTOS: Meet The Hunks Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 23

Veteran Dancing with the Stars hoofer Val Chmerkovkiy stopped by Good Morning America with some big news. The sexy Ukrainian-American dancer revealed the names of the pros that will be teaming up with the celebs on the show’s upcoming 23rd season.

Sharna Burgess, Lindsay Arnold, and Allison Holker will be hitting the floor, but we all know what really makes DWTS such a huge hit with both gay dudes and middle aged ladies: the hunky male dancers. So here they are, the boys who will be shaking their perfectly sculpted groove things and confounding America with their unpronounceable Eastern European surnames on Season 23:

Val Chmerkovskiy

Artem Chigvintsev

Sasha Farber

Gleb Savchenko

Full cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 23 will be revealed on GMA next Tuesday.

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Kanye West Begs Radio Stations to Play Frank Ocean’s New Album for the Good of Music

Kanye West took to Twitter last night to beg radio stations to play Frank Ocean’s new album, Blonde. Ocean released the long-awaited album, expected to debut at the top of the Billboard charts, over the weekend in a multimedia blitz which also included a visual album, a music video, and a magazine for sale at special pop-up shops called Boys Don’t Cry.

RELATED: Frank Ocean’s ‘Nikes’ Music Video is a Queer Masterpiece – WATCH

Wrote Kanye on Twitter:

“If anyone at radio really loves music … Come together and pick your favorite Frank Ocean song and play it at least 10 times a day…Every station across the globe. I Heart. Clear Channel local stations. Satellite. Every station. This will make the world better…Me and Drake both listen to Frank. Radio has to support amazing artists…Ask yourself Why did you love music in the first place and what can you do to add to the story…Power to the people. Power to the artist. Empower the artist and create a more inspired world.”

If anyone at radio really loves music … Come together and pick your favorite Frank Ocean song and play it at least 10 times a day.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 23, 2016

Every station across the globe. I Heart. Clear Channel local stations. Satellite. Every station. This will make the world better.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 23, 2016

Me and Drake both listen to Frank. Radio has to support amazing artists.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 23, 2016

Ask yourself Why did you love music in the first place and what can you do to add to the story.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 23, 2016

Power to the people. Power to the artist. Empower the artist and create a more inspired world.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 23, 2016

In related news, Ocean looks set to capitalize on his new release in a big way, because he’s no longer signed to Universal Music Group.

ALSO: Frank Ocean’s Poem ‘Boyfriend’ is Just One Element in a Beautiful ‘Blonde’ Experience: READ IT

Hits Daily Double reports:

It seems that his Endless visual album, released just prior to Blonde, satisfied his contractual commitment to UMG; Blonde, credited to the Boys Don’t Cry label (and distributed by Fresh Produce), is Ocean’s free and clear. Meaning he reaps 70% of the revenue from sales and streams, rather than the 20% of 70% (namely 14%) he would be entitled to on a major label.

Some looming questions, among many: How much did Apple pay/advance to Ocean for the exclusive? Given the expected windfall Ocean will realize under this arrangement, how many other superstar acts will follow suit when their contracts with the majors come up for renewal?

The post Kanye West Begs Radio Stations to Play Frank Ocean’s New Album for the Good of Music appeared first on Towleroad.

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Stephen Colbert Would Like You to Google ‘Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani Drag Queen Motorboat’ – WATCH

In a brilliant Late Show monologue last night, Stephen Colbert ripped Rudy Giuliani for fueling rumors about Hillary Clinton’s health by suggesting that people should go online and Google it.

Said Colbert: “I’m not surprised that he was able to diagnose Hillary Clinton so accurately without examining her. After all, Giuliani and Donald Trump are experts on female anatomy. It’s true.”

Colbert then played a clip of Trump motorboating Giuliani in drag, taken from The Inner Circle Show in 2000.

“Now obviously that’s shocking and you’re going to want to verify that video. Just go online and put down “Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani Drag Queen Motorboat.”

Colbert then went on to discuss more about Clinton’s health and revealed the real issue Republicans won’t talk about:

“I just want to say this to the Trump people out there. I don’t know why they say things like frail or weak or low energy. You’re just tiptoeing around the medical condition that you’re really upset about. One that she has that no other president in history has ever faced. Hillary Clinton has chronic no-penis.”

Watch:

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Labor Department Ensures Federal Contractors Comply with LGBTQ Non-Discrim Protections

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations implementing President Obama’s executive order on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. Among its provisions, the regulations will help to ensure companies contracting with the federal government comply with non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

HRC released the following statement:

“With these regulations, the Department of Labor is implementing President Obama’s executive order that helps provide crucial non-discrimination protections to employees of companies contracting with the federal government,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “All workers, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve to be able to go to work and make a living free from unfair and unjust discrimination. These regulations will level the playing field for companies that play by the rules and know that equal opportunity and non-discrimination protections are good for business. They will also help ensure taxpayer funds are not used to unlawfully discriminate against LGBTQ people.”

In July 2014, President Obama signed the executive order providing additional protections for workers employed by companies doing business with the federal government. By including new evaluation and enforcement mechanisms for reporting and remedying violations of existing labor requirements, that executive order bolstered the impact of the President’s previous landmark executive order that banned discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Companies bidding for federal contracts in excess of $500,000 will be required to publicly report any violations of existing labor laws over the previous three years. Once a company enters into a contract with the federal government, it will also be required to update this public report regarding potential labor law violations every six months for all contracted and subcontracted work. If violations have occurred, the executive order and DOL regulations provide a process for remedial and corrective action.

The regulations also provide additional protections for employees of companies contracting with the federal government. Among these protections, workers can no longer be required to sign arbitration agreements that allow an arbitrator — rather than a judge — to make binding decisions on sexual assault and civil rights complaints.  This requirement preserves the rights of some of the most vulnerable workers and ensures that they will have a right to take formal civil steps to hold companies accountable when they experience these grievances.

While these regulations will help protect employees of companies contracting with the federal government, the existing patchwork of legal protections for LGBTQ people in the United States as a whole leaves millions subject to uncertainty and at risk of discrimination. There is no federal law explicitly protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, and 31 states still lack fully-inclusive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. That’s why HRC is working with advocates and lawmakers to pass the Equality Act in Congress, as well as strong non-discrimination protections at the state and local levels. The Equality Act would finally guarantee explicit protections for LGBTQ people under our nation’s existing civil rights laws. It would provide clear, permanent, and equal protections under federal law for all Americans in vital areas of life, including employment, access to public spaces, housing, credit, education, jury service, and federally funded programs.

www.hrc.org/blog/labor-department-ensures-federal-contractors-comply-with-lgbtq-non-discrim?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

#AM_Equality News: August 24, 2016

NYT EDITORIAL: TX AG KEN PAXTON’S LAWSUIT “BASED ON BIGOTRY”: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a new lawsuit yesterday aimed at denying healthcare to transgender patients. The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who earlier this week ruled against the Departments of Justice and Education’s guidance on schools’ obligations to transgender students. Today, The New York Times editorial board slams Paxton’s calculated “legal assaults on equal protection” as “based on bigotry” — plain and simple.  Paxton specifically sought to bring a lawsuit in the Harrold Independent School District because the case would be assigned to Judge O’Connor, who, in an egregious anti-LGBTQ ruling in 2015, sought to block Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights for legally married same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor.

• EDUCATION OFFICIALS FIGHT BACK FOR TRANS KIDS: The Wall Street Journal’s Tawnell D. Hobbs and Ian Lovett report that school districts are grappling with uncertainty in the wake of Judge O’Connor’s ruling. His decision compromises the safety and well-being of thousands of schoolchildren, but hats off to compassionate leaders like Superintendent Damaris Lau in Lancaster, Penn., for committing to protecting transgender students. “We really want to ensure that all of our kids feel safe,” she said. The ruling does not prohibit schools from voluntarily implementing the guidance. More from The Wall Street Journal.

• WILL HE OR WON’T HE: PAXTON PROMISES TO MEET TRANSGENDER CHILD: After Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, two of the Lone Star State’s most notorious anti-LGBTQ officials, admitted they’d never met a transgender person, one remarkable Texas mom took matters into her own hands. Amber Briggle invited both to dinner with her family, including her 8-year-old transgender son. When asked by a reporter at NBCDFW.com about the invite, Paxton said that he’d be “happy to do that.” More in the Dallas Morning News.

Amber and her son, MG

NO NORTH CAROLINA WEDDING BELLS FOR CIARA AND NFL’s RUSSELL WILSON: Sports Illustrated reports that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and singer/actress Ciara moved their wedding from North Carolina to London because of HB2. They’re not alone in taking their special event out of state. In addition to the risks HB2 poses to the safety and wellbeing of countless LGBTQ participants, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area reports an estimated $1.2 million in losses from event planners going elsewhere. More from The Daily Tar Heel and The News and Observer.

NEW COMPREHENSIVE TRANSGENDER SEXUAL HEALTH GUIDE: Check out this first-of-its-kind resource from HRC and Whitman-Walker Health: Safer Sex for Trans Bodies, a comprehensive sexual health guide for transgender and gender expansive people and their partners. The guide fills a significant gap in inclusive, publicly-available sexual health resources for transgender and gender expansive people. The resource was made in consultation with Casa Ruby, Trans United Fund, and TransLatin@ Coalition. It was made possible with support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation. More from HRC.

• Today: Experts from the HRC Foundation and Whitman-Walker Health will participate in a 1:15 p.m. Facebook live conversation about the new guide and more. Tune in at hrc.im/fblive.

A.M. MUST READ: In this The Huffington Post piece, HRC’s Mary Beth Maxwell writes about the struggles of LGBTQ students on their way back to school.

LAWSUIT PROCEEDS AGAINST NJ CATHOLIC SCHOOL FOR FIRING EMPLOYEE IN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: A New Jersey Superior Court judge has denied a motion by Paramus Catholic High School to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit brought by an employee fired for being in a same-sex marriage. Attorneys for Kate Drumgoole, the school’s former dean of guidance and basketball coach, say her job did not include religious instruction, arguing that the firing over marital status violated the state’s anti-discrimination law. More than 3,000 alumni and others have signed a letter protesting the firing. Read more about the case at NJ.com.

UNJUST: HOW THE BROKEN JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS  FAIL LGBTQ YOUTH: A comprehensive new report explores how the U.S. juvenile and criminal justice systems endanger the lives and life chances of LGBTQ young people. Among the report’s most alarming findings: the percentage of LGBTQ youth in juvenile detention is double that of LGBTQ youth in the general population — 20 percent of youth in juvenile justice facilities identify as LGBTQ or gender nonconforming, compared with 7 to 9 percent of youth in the general population. The report comes from a coalition of partners including HRC. More from the Center for American Progress.

MOMENT OF AWW! After someone swiped a same-sex couple’s rainbow flag and egged their house, their Natick, Mass., neighbors responded by festooning the home with rainbow flags to show their support. More from The Boston Globe.

JAPANESE PARENTS OVERWHELMINGLY ACCEPTING OF LGBTQ CHILDREN: A new survey of parents in Japan found that nearly 90 percent of respondents would accept their children if they came out as LGBTQ. More from Japan Times.

READING RAINBOW

New Republic details Donald Trump’s pathetic pitch to minority groups… The Beijinger takes a look at China’s Rainbow Hotline, a program the LGBTQ community in China can use to obtain legal help… San Diego LGBT Weekly reports that the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation has raised $30,000 for local LGBTQ seniors… AllAfrica looks at a Zambian campaign to give prisoners better access to HIV services… NPR explores the gender clinic at Duke University’s Hospital, the only one of its kind in the South for teens… The Concord Monitor releases the first of it’s five-part series on trans lives

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

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HRC Global Partners with Pride JA for Pride in Jamaica

HRC Global was honored to partner with this year’s successful Pride JA in Jamaica, a week of LGBTQ Pride events from August 1-7, 2016. The Pride events were a successful outcome of the tremendous efforts of J-FLAG, the foremost human rights and social justice advocacy organization for LGBTQ people in Jamaica.

Dane Lewis, Executive Director of J-FLAG, stated, “PRIDE JA is a local product. Conceptualized, owned and driven by young activists who know why it is necessary to celebrate who we are.”

HRC applauds the successful efforts of activists in Jamaica. LGBTQ people and supporters gathered for inclusive sporting events, live entertainment, a symposium, a family picnic and a black tie gala.

In March, Jaevion Nelson, Director of Projects and Strategy at J-FLAG, attended HRC’s inaugural Global Innovative Advocacy Summit. Jaevion reflected on this year’s Pride Ja activities in an article in The Jamaica Gleaner, “#PRiDEJA is a whole lot about breaking the rules of oppression which demand that you be silent and invisible. It’s about giving people hope, creating safe spaces, and validating and letting people feel belonged. #PRiDEJA is about making Jamaica more hospitable for all of us so we can live, work, raise families and do business.”

The organizers managed to pull off the second annual Pride events without violence or harassment in a country which only 10 years ago was deemed the most homophobic place on earth by TIME magazine. Jamaica’s Offences Against the Person Act of 1864 criminalizes all forms of intimacy between men, even in private. Though the law is rarely enforced, its existence perpetuates the stigma and marginalization of LGBTQ people. Jamaica is one of 72 countries around the world that criminalize consensual same-sex relations.

Despite the uphill battle to secure the rights of LGBTQ people in Jamaica, J-FLAG and LGBTQ people and supporters reinforced their rights to visibility and assembly through the events of Pride JA. This year’s efforts at community building and public education are essential to strengthening the movement for LGBTQ rights in Jamaica.

Learn more about HRC’s work to strengthen the global LGBTQ equality movement through public education, advocacy, fellowships, partnerships and research by visiting www.hrc.org/global.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-global-partners-with-pride-ja-for-pride-in-jamaica?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Gay Couple Makes Medical History, Welcomes Triplets Born with Both Fathers’ DNA: WATCH

Christo and Theo Menalaou, a gay couple who just had triplets in South Africa, have made medical history. Their newborns Joshua, Zoe, and Kate are the first triplets ever born with both of their fathers’ DNA.

International Business Times reports:

Theo and Christo Menelaou fertilised one egg each of a surrogate using their DNA.

The same-sex couple met the surrogate at a neighbourhood meeting during the trial of former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius who was their neighbour and friend in Pretoria, South Africa. During the pregnancy, doctors found one of the eggs split, making the surrogate pregnant with triplets.

Doctor advised them to terminate two of the foetuses but the couple pushed through with the pregnancy with the babies born prematurely in July, reports The Telegraph. The three babies weigh only a little over one kilogramme each. One of them would need to undergo heart surgery in the coming months.

Two of the infants are identical twins. They live in Pretoria. The IB Times adds:

They had to follow South Africa’s strict law on surrogacy which meant the couple, the surrogate and her husband signed affidavits that they are all willing participants to the arrangement and no money was exchanged, excluding expenses incurred because of the pregnancy.

Watch:

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Bella Thorne Comes Out as Bisexual

Bella Thorne, an actress and singer who launched her career on the Disney Channel and has since played roles in Dirty Sexy Money, Entourage, and The OC, came out as bisexual in a Twitter Q&A after a fan asked her: “Are you bisexual?”

Yes t.co/Ds0ov2Cnmu

— bella thorne (@bellathorne) August 23, 2016

Hollywood gossip site Hollywood Life has since linked her to BFF and “soul mate” Bella Pendergast:

When Bella Thorne, 18, came out as bisexual, it was a bit of a shock until everyone started taking a good look back at her last few weeks on social media and realized she was professing to us all along that her real sweetheart is her brother Remy’s ex-girlfriend Bella Pendergast, 20. The pair have been close friends for years, but there was something a little more going on that just being pals. The two exchanged sweet public messages of love and affection, with Bella T. going so far as to call Bella P. her “soulmate” Aug. 10, despite still being in a one-year relationship with actor Gregg Sulkin, 24.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SOULMATE. So lucky to have you baby @bellapendergast

— bella thorne (@bellathorne) August 10, 2016

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Here’s a ‘Toxic’ Tease of Britney Spears’ Carpool Karaoke Trip: WATCH

The legendary Britney Spears is set to join James Corden for a round of Carpool Karaoke as she prepares for the official (though it’s already been leaked) release of her new album Glory.

Check out why she thinks Corden is so dirty in the teaser below:

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