Ellen Page Stars As LGBT Advocate On and Off Screen: Gay Iconography

There’s always been a large debate around LGBT celebrities’ responsibility to be an out and proud advocate of the community, and few young actors know that struggle more than Ellen Page. Before coming out, her sexuality was fodder for rampant tabloid speculation, but since speaking publicly about being a lesbian, Page has been the face of several projects focused on LGBT people.

“There was a time when I thought it would be impossible to be out,” she said at a Human Rights Campaign gala in 2015. “I acutely remember the pain I was in before I was out. And I have been able to experience a lot of things for the first time in the last year and a half. Having my arms wrapped around my girlfriend Samantha while we walk down the street. Holding her hand on the red carpet. Kissing her in the ocean while we surf…and getting to say, in public, I am in love. But living an authentic life should not be something we feel we must fight for.”

She’s been a superhero (X-Men’s Kitty Pryde), an action star (Inception) and the snarky voice of the millennial generation (Juno), but perhaps the work that’s left the biggest impact is Page’s docuseries Gaycation where she’s explored LGBT culture and issues around the globe.

Revisit some of the Canadian actress’ work in a few of our favorite clips, below.

Page first attracted acclaim in the thriller Hard Candy in which she portrays a young vigilante exacting revenge on a pedophile. Page gave a chilling performance, but it wasn’t until the 2007 film Juno that Page received widespread critical and mainstream praise. As the film’s wise-cracking titular protagonist, Page earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

As Page’s profile became more prominent, questions about her sexuality swirled. The lesbian rumors reached such a fevered pitch, Page indirectly responded in an SNL sketch when she hosted in 2008. She came out officially in 2014 at an event for the Human Rights Campaign. “I am here today because I am gay… and because maybe I can make a difference to help others have an easier and more hopeful time,” she said in her speech. “Regardless for me I feel a personal obligation and a personal responsibility. I also do it selfishly because I’m tired of hiding and I’m tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered, and my relationship suffered. And I’m standing here today with all of you on the other side of that pain.”

Last year, Page starred opposite gay icon Julianna Moore in Freeheld. The film tells the true-life story of police officer Laurel Hester as she tries to leave her pension benefits to her partner Stacie Andree after finding out she has terminal cancer. “It’s hard to say this, because the context of the film is so deeply tragic, but for me there was a deep sense of peace on set that I had not felt in a really long time, potentially since I was a teenager and first having these really beautiful, fortunate moments in films,” Page told TIME Magazine in an interview. “There was something about being out, getting to play a gay character, and getting to play a woman who is so inspiring to me—it was such an amazing experience for me. Honestly, if I played gay characters for the rest of my career, I’d be thrilled. I wish I could, honestly!”

Earlier this year Page premiered a new reality series called Gaycation on new TV network VICELAND. Along with Ian Daniel, Page toured the globe exploring LGBT culture and issues in other countries. Before the series even premiered, Page made headlines for confronting then Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz at the Iowa State Fair. However, the most chilling moment in the series’ first season occurred when Page confronted a self-confessed murderer who took pride in killing gay people in Brazil. Despite the danger, Page revealed her sexuality to him on camera, and you could feel the tension. “I think it’s hard to read on camera, but he went from pretty much looking at us, or looking at us from above those sunglasses, to not even looking at our faces after that,” she told The Daily Beast. “There was definitely a shift in that moment. That was definitely the moment where you’re like, OK, what did I just do?”

Next week, VICELAND will air a special episode of Gaycation focusing on the survivors of the Pulse Nightclub attack. The second season will begin to air officially in September.

What’s your favorite Ellen Page project?

The post Ellen Page Stars As LGBT Advocate On and Off Screen: Gay Iconography appeared first on Towleroad.

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Police Arrest Two Masked Men Protesting Anti-LGBT Street Preachers at Charlotte Pride: WATCH

Police arrested two men who were counter-protesting a group of anti-LGBT Bible-thumpers at Charlotte Pride on Saturday. It appeared that the men were arrested for refusing to remove masks.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department had declared the festival an “extraordinary event” due to large crowds expected because of the state’s anti-LGBT law HB 2

Watch (arrest footage begins around 9:30):

Q Notes reports that “there is an anti-mask law in North Carolina, prohibiting anyone from wearing them on “public ways”:

Enacted legislation Article 4A of Chapter 14 states that, “No person or persons at least 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, be or appear upon any lane, walkway, alley, street, road, highway or other public way in this State.”

The law was passed in 1953, in response to Ku Klux Klan members hiding their identities with hoods. Anti-mask laws exists in a number of states.

Occupy protesters, many of whom wore Guy Fawkes masks during protests, were targeted by these laws, as have other protesters.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has argued that these laws are unconstitutional, arguing they violate the First Amendment. So far they have held up against legal challenges.

Q Notes also identified the counter-protesters as Michael Behrle and Daniel Gardner and says that they were charged with second degree trespass.

And the anti-LGBT Christian Bible-thumpers in the video above weren’t the only ones trying to disrupt it.

Right-wing nutjob Flip Benham had a loudspeaker setup near one of the stages and was preaching about anal sex from it:

On the flip side, there were more churches participating in the Pride festivities than ever before, the Charlotte Observer reports:

Churches made up more than 10 percent of the 135 contingents in the parade this year, compared to one church that marched in the first parade back in 1994. Some even came with their choirs, driving up parade participation from 2,500 last year to 3,300 this year. Crowds watching the parade were five and six deep in the blocks north of Trade and Tryon streets.

Christina Woodruff attended as a member of Missiongathering Charlotte, which is among the congregations that joined in this year for the first time. The church’s float featured nationally known Christian singer Trey Pearson, who shocked the music industry in June by coming out as gay.

“To those preachers out there screaming the insults, we love you, but stop it,” said Steve Knight of Missiongathering Charlotte.

“Those street preachers screaming hate get so much attention from the media, but there are more churches out here showing their support for LGBT people. You don’t hear enough about us, and we outnumber them.”

The post Police Arrest Two Masked Men Protesting Anti-LGBT Street Preachers at Charlotte Pride: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: August 22, 2016

JUDGE BLOCKS FED GUIDANCE ON TRANS STUDENTS, PUTS 1000s AT RISK AS THEY RETURN TO SCHOOL: On Sunday, a federal judge issued an injunction against guidance provided to school districts by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice regarding the civil rights of transgender students. In Texas v. United States, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor blocked the Department of Justice from enforcing the guidance that clarifies transgender students have a right to be free from discrimination in schools, including a right to use restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity. HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said, “Despite this judge’s decision, schools are not barred from following the federal guidance, and school administrators still have a responsibility to ensure that the civil rights of all students are respected and that transgender students have access to facilities consistent with their gender identity. As lawsuits on the scope of Title IX proceed, we believe that justice will prevail as courts continue to recognize that discrimination against transgender students is a form of sex discrimination.” In March of 2015, Judge O’Connor also sought to block Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights for legally married same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in United States v. Windsor (2013). More from Bloomberg.

• Reminder: Donald Trump opposes treating transgender students with dignity. In addition to supporting North Carolina’s vile HB2, here’s a reminder that Donald Trump would rescind the Departments of Justice and Education’s guidance regarding the civil rights of transgender students. The Washington Post reported in May, “Donald Trump vowed Monday that if elected president he would rescind the Obama administration’s new directives aimed at protecting transgender people against discrimination in schools and health-care coverage.” More here.

RECORD CROWDS ESTIMATED AT 200,000 ATTEND CHARLOTTE, NC, PRIDE, CALL OUT HB2: This past weekend, hundreds of thousands of people turned out to celebrate LGBTQ equality at Charlotte Pride parade and festival, using the annual event to call for the repeal of the state’s discriminatory HB2 law. The Charlotte Observer reports that a record number of faith groups joined the parade to publicly signal their opposition to the anti-LGBTQ HB2. “Those street preachers screaming hate get so much attention from the media, but there are more churches out here showing their support for LGBT people. You don’t hear enough about us, and we outnumber them,” said Steve Knight of Missiongathering Charlotte.

• Professor Barbara Riseman, writing in The News & Observer, suggests embracing the trans-inclusive future that millennials are already shaping. “Just follow the kids,” she says. Read the full op-ed here.

GOP VEEP NOMINEE MIKE PENCE OPPOSED LGBTQ EQUALITY ABROAD WHILE IN CONGRESS: While Donald Trump attempts to pander to the LGBTQ community, The Washington Blade looks back at how his running mate dangerously worked to undermine the State Department’s push for LGBTQ equality abroad during his time in Congress. Pence ludicrously claimed a bill would, “…tie the hands of American diplomats by mandating that they make sexual orientation a foreign policy priority regardless of other national security considerations.” The Blade noted the contrast with Hillary Clinton, reporting, “The promotion of LGBT rights abroad has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy since then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered her landmark “gay rights are human rights” speech in Geneva in 2011.” More here.

A LOOK BACK AT OUT OLYMPIANS: With a record number of out athletes at the Olympics this year, it’s clear that LGBTQ visibility has increased in the sports world. However, these wins have come from hard fought battles and brave visibility from athletes in the past, and much more to fight. While there were more out Olympians participating in the 2016 Olympic Games than ever before, no openly transgender athletes competed. As the games come to a close, we cannot forget those who’ve paved the way for these athletes to live openly and authentically. These Olympians proudly spoke out about who they are, both on and off the field of competition, setting an example for LGBTQ youth and people around the globe. Check out Olympians who made history at HRC.

• For your daily dose of “d’aww,” here are the Olympic moments that warmed our hearts.

LESBIAN EMPLOYEE IN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE SUES CATHOLIC SCHOOL OVER FIRING: A lesbian woman in a same-sex marriage is suing a New Jersey Roman Catholic school, alleging officials violated state employment law by firing her as a school dean — a job that never included religious instruction — because she married a woman. New Jersey’s employment non-discrimination law includes protections for gender identity and sexual orientation. More from The Associated Press.

• A group of openly gay Church of England clergy are taking a different approach, calling on church leaders to change the church’s official position on marriage equality. More from The Guardian.

ANTI-LGBTQ ATTACK IN ALABAMA: A man in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was attacked last weekend by three men who repeatedly asked him if he was gay. One suspect has been arrested, and police are searching for the other two men. More from WIAT.

• The incident is one of several recent reports of disturbing — and often deadly — acts of violence against LGBTQ people. These attacks disproportionately affect transgender women of color. More from HRC.

• Hundreds of LGBTQ advocates in Istanbul rallied for justice for the murder of Turkish trans activist Hande Kader this weekend. More from The Mirror.

MILITARY TO COVER SOME TRANS-RELATED HEALTHCARE FOR FAMILIES OF SERVICEMEMBERS: The U.S. Military’s Tricare healthcare plan will begin to cover some transition-related healthcare for military family members starting Oct. 1. However, the new policy still won’t cover gender confirmation surgery for military dependents. More from Military.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA MAY HAVE ITS FIRST WOMAN, LGBTQ SHERIFF: Crystal Moore of Latta, S.C., is running to become the state’s first female sheriff — as well as its first openly LGBTQ sheriff. Moore is running just two years after being fired by the mayor for being openly lesbian. She was reinstated through a special election. More from The Associated Press.

READING RAINBOW

The New Civil Rights Movement profiles six openly gay US Ambassadors… Jamaica Observer interviews one of the original discoverers of HIV… PBS NewsHour discusses the U.S. blood donation policy requiring gay and bisexual men to abstain from sex for one year before donating… TV New Zealand shares a video highlighting a local medical school’s effort to teach established doctors about LGBTQ health… The Washington Post profiles Jim Gray, an openly gay Democratic candidate running to unseat Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)… Bloomberg reports that Australia will likely push back its vote for marriage equality… and Windy City Times announces the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame 2016 inductions.

 

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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Robbie Rogers Says Opponent Used 'Queer' as Slur on Field

Robbie Rogers, the first out gay player in MLS history, was reportedly called a “queer” in a Saturday match.

www.advocate.com/sports/2016/8/22/robbie-rogers-says-opponent-used-queer-slur-field

Bette Midler Apologizes Over Tweet Asking If Caitlyn Jenner Will Go Back To Being Bruce

Bette Midler and the Kardashians have had Twitter beef for awhile now, but a new jab has some calling her out for transphobia.

Midler asked on Saturday whether Caitlyn Jenner will go back to being Bruce now that her show, “I Am Cait,” has been cancelled, and remarry Kris in a since deleted tweet.

Midler tweeted out an apology on Sunday, calling it an “idle musing,” and adding that “I seem to have misread the temper of the times.”

DEAR FRIENDS @HRC, WHOM I HAVE ALWAYS SUPPORTED. SORRY LAST TWEET OFFENDED. AN IDLE MUSING. I SEEM TO HAVE MISREAD THE TEMPER OF THE TIMES.

— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) August 21, 2016

Response to the tweet were mixed, but many are calling Midler out on crossing the line, and have reminder her that it is maybe not so funny to suggest that transgender identity is a phase. Especially at a time of increased violence and antitrans legislation.

@BetteMidler @IAmCait Yes, because being transgender is just a phase? What a vile tweet. Will you go back to being irrelevant?

— Josh Haigh (@joshcharles_21) August 21, 2016

@Danimay_Palmer @BetteMidler personally? Trans people are MURDERED on a daily basis. Perpetuating the myth it’s a choice is harmful.

— Josh Haigh (@joshcharles_21) August 21, 2016

@BetteMidler I love you Bette but this is horrible.

— roxane gay (@rgay) August 21, 2016

@rgay @BetteMidler I’m hoping some child assistant tweeted that out… ???

— Bflood28 (@Bflood28) August 21, 2016

@rgay seriously, WTF @BetteMidler?

— Jeff Stenehjem (@JeffStenehjem) August 21, 2016

@BetteMidler @IAmCait Why do you even think that is acceptable to say Bette? So rude and offensive toward a fellow Human. Shame on you.

— Toria (LesbiHonest) (@LuckyCharmed3) August 20, 2016

.@BetteMidler It doesn’t matter how you feel about her or her politics (yeah, that’s what this is about) her gender is hers.

— Her Majesty (@RoyalHoeliness) August 21, 2016

A trans person’s pronouns & gender aren’t contingent on you agreeing with their politics/opinions.

— Her Majesty (@RoyalHoeliness) August 21, 2016

@BetteMidler @IAmCait this is transphobic Bette

— reggie (@1942bs) August 20, 2016

.@BetteMidler Now that you’ve proven you’re no ally to LGBT people, will you do anything to regain trust? Take it back? Do I smell donation?

— Kylie Jack (@ixKylie) August 21, 2016

Tell us your reaction to Midler’s tweet in the comments below.

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Are You Racist? Gay? Or Both? This Guy’s Premature Baldness Has Led To A Lot Of Misunderstandings

It’s not easy being bald and under 30. Just ask Scott Manley Hadley.

“My name is Scott Manley Hadley,” his essay begins, “and I am prematurely bald.”

Hadley says he first shaved his head when he was 26 year old after accepting that his receding hairline was both “unstoppable and accelerating.” It’s a harsh and often difficult reality that most every man, gay or straight, must confront at some point in their lives. In fact, a 2013 study found that male pattern baldness can actually trigger severe emotional burdens, including depression and body dysmorphic disorder, which is when a person suffers acute anxiety about their looks.

Related: Man Claims Propecia Made His Weenie Shrink Then Drove Him To Insanity

Some of this is due to a person’s own self-image. But it’s often aggravated by society, as has been the case for Hadley.

“In the year and a half since then,” he writes. “I’ve been the victim of constant discrimination.”

“Shaved heads are a popular and stereotypical look within two UK communities,” he explains. “Many people presume that a man with a shaved head is one of two things: gay or racist.”

He continues: “If I’m dressed in an even remotely flamboyantly way (i.e. a patterned shirt), strangers regularly presume I’m gay. If, however, I’m dressed in unexciting jeans and a plain T-shirt, people presume I’m some EDL-loving thug.”

In Hadley’s case, he’s neither of those things, though, he says, he doesn’t take offense when people think he’s gay. (In fact, in another blog post, he admits that he’s “tried” to whole gay thing but in the process he learned “the bit that actually matters just isn’t my kinda thing.”)

Related: PHOTOS: Guys With Receding Hairlines Are Sexy As Hell

“I’m neither a football-hooligan-turned-bouncer nor a gay man,” he writes. Be, he says, “I find it interesting how these two groups, which are in many ways ideologically opposed, share such a striking symbol.”

He adds: “What else do gay men and skinhead thugs have in common? Both groups enjoy wearing leather. Both groups organize street parades where they loudly expound personal pride.”

Hadley then takes a deep dive into what this all means:

A bald head looks like the tip of an erect penis without the external urethral meatus, and one would be foolish to deny that there are few things more masculine than a b*ner. It makes sense for gay men to fetishize the shaven head, as the defining feature of a male homosexual is his eroticization of the penis. For a fascistic thug, though, the deification of the c*ck makes less sense, unless one subscribes to the sneering viewpoint that every homophobe is a repressed homosexual scared of his own desires.

Sure, he may be overthinking. Or maybe he’s onto something. After all, a recent study found that straight-identifying guys with negative attitudes toward gay men appeared to be waaaay more interested in gay imagery than the those who didn’t express homophobic sentiments.

Then, of course, there are all those antigay religious and political leaders who have been exposed as keeping secret Grindr profiles.

Related: Study Shows Homophobic Male College Students Attracted To Gay Imagery

So what’s the takeaway from all this?

A few things:

First, Hadley writes, “men who shave their heads receive prejudice from both the socially liberal and the socially conservative, seeing us as a demon representative of something they abhor.”

So stop make snap judgments about bald guys!

And second, he says, male pattern baldness is a “disease” that typically affects “men who identify as outside of the mainstream (be that through sexuality or extreme political beliefs) [and] often want to draw extra attention to something that puts them at the heart of our patriarchal, white-led, society: their ethnicity and gender.”

Hmmm. We’re not so sure about that one.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments section below…

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

Four years after his last album Channel Orange, Frank Ocean released his long-awaited album Blonde over the weekend along with a tidal wave of additional new creative offerings, a video for the track “Nikes”, a visual album called Endless, and a magazine (available only at pop-up shops in four cities) called Boys Don’t Cry (which had been the rumored title of Blonde. An interesting note: while the official title of the album is Blonde, Ocean decided to write ‘blond’ on the cover – linguistics experts, make of it what you will.

Gender and sexuality are at the center of Ocean’s new set of works.

Writes the NYT:

Much of the magazine is given over to the eroticism of the automobile — there are photos of Mr. Ocean looking blissful around cars, a spread of racecar drivers deep in thought, a striking photo shoot of nude young Chinese men draped on and in a compact sedan. In an essay at the beginning of the magazine, Mr. Ocean suggests his car fixation might be part of “a deep subconscious straight boy fantasy,” but then adds, “Consciously though, I don’t want straight — a little bent is good.”

Mr. Ocean announced on his Tumblr in 2012 that when he was 19 he fell in love with a man. Sexual fluidity and ambiguity play key parts in the new projects. The magazine features both nude men and women, and there are small references to gender nonconformity throughout these works: a shot of Mr. Ocean wearing strong eyeliner in the “Nikes” video, and another in the middle of a car-based photo shoot in the magazine; or a sample of the drag icon Crystal LaBeija, taken from the documentary “The Queen,” on “Endless.” And most vividly, his album is called “Blonde,” but its cover reads “blond,” alongside a photo of Mr. Ocean, his short hair dyed neon green — the feminine, the masculine, the none of the above.

Among the gems in the magazine is a poem written by Ocean and you can read it below.

“Boyfriend” by Frank Ocean

my boyfriend drives a lil bucket
when it rain it fills up with rain
my boyfriend he gon pick me up
don’t distract him at the wheel
in his lane
he’s the only one

my boyfriend he misses me when i’m gone
so he don’t forget me
there’s a song he sings
calms his nerve, endings
my boyfriend is friendly
and we don’t want no problems

i could say that i’m happy
they let me and my boyfriend become married
i could say that i’m happy
but cross my heart i didn’t notice
hope to die no never, we voted
me and my boyfriend cast our ballot
every kiss reads like a poem
making wrongs right like a poem

i couldn’t say i dream of you
because my dreams are filled with no one
and all is lost
me and my boyfriend we found
we don’t hope for beyonds at all
me and my boyfriend spend time
and that’s all i’m holding on
this time

we got permission
nothing’s above condition
but this ain’t a thang
it’s a mission

can’t join the band so sing along
me and my boyfriend got it going on
sleep with fans and t shirts on
asleep in vans your legs all strewn
across my lap
tan lines where your watch was strapped
you took off to make time

cut your hair
you left it long
i love to stare
there’s nothing wrong
and if i die while i’m asleep
i pray to God my boyfriend
keeps my secret
peace

View post on imgur.com

The post Frank Ocean’s Poem ‘Boyfriend’ is Just One Element in a Beautiful ‘Blonde’ Experience: READ IT appeared first on Towleroad.

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Clinton Foundation, Prince Harry, Sam Kendricks, Drake, Rihanna, Hugh Jackman, Adonis: HOT LINKS

CLINTON FOUNDATION. Trump calls for it to shut down: “Hillary Clinton is the defender of the corrupt and rigged status quo. The Clintons have spent decades as insiders lining their own pockets and taking care of donors instead of the American people,” Trump said in a statement released through his campaign. “It is now clear that the Clinton Foundation is the most corrupt enterprise in political history. What they were doing during Crooked Hillary’s time as Secretary of State was wrong then, and it is wrong now. It must be shut down immediately.”

THOSE DAMN EMAILS. FBI uncovers “tens of thousands” more documents: “The State Department is expected to discuss when and how it will release the emails Monday morning in federal court. The total — confirmed by the Justice Department — was disclosed by a conservative legal group after the State Department said last week that it would hand over the emails. The number to be released is nearly 50 percent more than the 30,000-plus that Clinton’s lawyers deemed work-related and returned to the department in December 2014.”

GOT HIS EAR. Sean Hannity is Trump’s advisor: “Several people I’ve spoken with over the last couple of weeks said Mr. Hannity had for months peppered Mr. Trump, his family members and advisers with suggestions on strategy and messaging. So involved is Mr. Hannity that three separate denizens of the hall of mirrors that is Trump World told me they believed Mr. Hannity was behaving as if he wanted a role in a possible Trump administration — something he denied to me as laughable and contractually prohibitive in an interview on Friday.”

KENTUCKY. Washington Post profiles gay Senate candidate Jim Gray: “Gray is the only openly gay candidate running for Senate from a major party this cycle, a status that is drawing the spotlight to his otherwise longshot Democratic bid to unseat Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). And he says that his sexuality is simply not an issue in the race. ‘It’s been a wedge issue for a long time,’ Gray, 62, said in an interview. ‘But what I find today is that people care about results and performance. I haven’t seen it. I have not seen it as a problem.’ Gray is trailing Paul in the polls, but that hasn’t diminished his role in the 2016 narrative.”

RIO 2016. Prince Harry congratulates Usain Bolt.

Congratulations @usainbolt – now you’re officially the greatest you might be ready for a re-run! 😉 Happy 30th -H. pic.twitter.com/Wa0yOZMDc2

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) August 21, 2016

TIGHTY-WHITIES. Josh Duhamel dons some undies, but we wish they were tighter.

AUSTRALIA. Former High Court justice Michael Kirby says plebiscite on gay marriage sets dangerous precedent.  “It will mean any time that there is something that is controversial, that’s difficult for the parliamentarians to address or they don’t want to address, they’ll send it out to a plebiscite.  I think that’s a very bad way. Our Parliament, our parliamentary institutions in Australia and elsewhere are really not working all that well at the moment and what we should be doing is strengthening Parliament and ensuring it gets on with the job.”

SAM KENDRICKS. US track and field athlete and Army reservist was about to make a pole vault, but then he heard the National Anthem.

ADONIS. This is the oldest tree in Europe: “The tree was first planted in 941AD – some 87 years before William the Conqueror was even born – and has now been discovered by scientists at Stockholm University and the University of Mainz.”

Adonis: Bosinan pine in Greece Europe’s oldest tree (1075 yrs) survived Byzantins & Ottomans t.co/mgPBqiBu9R pic.twitter.com/aKhvmGHvFL

— Carl J. Königel (@CarlKonigel) August 22, 2016

 

AUSTRALIA. First recorded wombat attack on a human in Canberra: “I was laying screaming for help, I couldn’t get away from it, every time I managed to get up it attacked me and bit me and knocked me to the ground. I really thought I was going to lay there and die that night because I just couldn’t see how I was going to get away from it, it just wasn’t stopping its attack.”

ON TOUR. Drake had a moment with Frank Underwood.

 

SHAVING. Hugh Jackman took off his Wolverine mutton chops this morning.

My wife is going to be very happy. #GoodbyeChops #TheDebs pic.twitter.com/CzJFRWR1Sy

— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) August 22, 2016

TIME-LAPSE OF THE DAY. “The hauntingly beautiful pyrocumulus cloud formations caused by the Rey Fire. Shot from East Camino Cielo Road.”

A ROSE IS A SOAP IS A ROSE. This new fancy soap delivery system is going viral because who doesn’t want their soap in the shape of a perfect rose?

 

LOVE ON THE BRAIN. Rihanna’s next single.

 

E-MO-TION. Carly Rae Jepsen has something new coming.

Happy 1 year E•MO•TION! Your anniversary present is coming this Friday 8/26 🙊 pic.twitter.com/GXjYO9FsUS

— Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) August 21, 2016

MONDAY MUSCLE. Wilson Cruz.

 

 

 

 

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Boy Band Mogul Lou Pearlman Dies in Prison

Former boy band mogul Lou Perlman, who spawned the careers of late 90s/early aughts pop phenoms such as N*SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, O-Town, and LFO, has died in prison. Pearlman was 62, serving a 25 year sentence for orchestrating a $300 million ponzi scheme.

Pearlman was sentenced back in 2008 after defrauding banks and investors–some of whom were his friends and elderly–of millions of dollars over a period of two decades.

The NY Daily News reports: 

Pearlman was nabbed on a single bank fraud charge while living under a pseudonym in Indonesia, where local authorities expelled the music producer as “an undesirable visitor” and handed him over to the FBI.

He was sentenced in 2008 to 25 years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges related to the multi-million fraud scheme.

Pearlman, who garnered the nickname “Big Poppa,” targets included several elderly victims — some of whom were his friends and relatives.

It’s unclear which prison was housing Pearlman when he died.

Former N*SYNC member Lance Bass responded to the news on Twitter, writing, “Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away. He might not have been a stand up businessman , but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today wout his influence. RIP Lou”

Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away. He might not have been a stand up businessman , but I (cont) t.co/nsczUEVOOQ

— Lance Bass (@LanceBass) August 20, 2016

Fellow N*SYNCer and perhaps Pearlman’s most famous protege, Justin Timberlake, wrote, “I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.”

I hope he found some peace. God bless and RIP, Lou Pearlman.

— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) August 21, 2016

Backstreet Boy member AJ McLean meanwhile said, “Many emotions at the news of Lou’s passing. Without Lou I wouldn’t have met my four brothers or had the opportunity of a lifetime. RIP.”

Many emotions at the news of Lou’s passing. Without Lou I wouldn’t have met my four brothers or had the opportunity of a lifetime. RIP.

— AJ McLean (@skulleeroz) August 21, 2016

As Matthew Rettenmund over at Boy Culture notes, it was widely rumored throughout Pearlman’s career that he made advances towards the young male pop-star wannabes whose careers he was guiding. Though he himself was not openly gay. Of Pearlman’s sexuality, Rettenmund writes,

Lou obviously loved being around hot young guys, but never copped to being gay. At a mall promo in Orlando, he sidled up to me one time discreetly to offer me access to a Chippendales show (he was an owner at the time). It was a kind gesture, since he knew I was gay, but also surreal because he was saying the words as if he himself were not.

In my opinion—and others knew him way better—he was not someone who had a bunch of secret gay friends around whom he would let down his hair, like closeted Hollywood stars; rather, he seemed to be someone who was pathologically in denial, but whose urges would come out in private, one-on-one, only when he was in total control.

[Top image via Wikipedia]

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