Jonathan Groff Is Virtually Indistinguishable From His Character On HBO’s “Looking”

www.queerty.com/jonathan-groff-virtually-indistinguishable-character-hbos-looking-20160928?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Keith Olbermann Wonders If Trump Is a Traitor: ‘Are You Loyal to the United States of America?’

In his latest episode of his web series The Closer, seasoned newsman Keith Olbermann delves into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Broadly speaking, Olbermann wants one question answered, “What exactly is Donald Trump doing with—and for—Putin and the Russian government?”

RELATED: Keith Olbermann Found 74 More Reasons Why Donald Trump Must Never Be President – WATCH

But more specifically, Olbermann has questions about a man working for Trump by the name of Carter Page. Page “reportedly met with the Russian guy spying on our election in Moscow”, which raises even more questions for Olbermann–huuuge questions–about Trump’s campaign:

“You have to explain this buccaneer now, Trump, because if you don’t, if you don’t explain the continuing embrace you have of a murderous regime of a malevolent country like Russia, you will face far bigger questions than just, ‘who is Carter Page?’ Those questions are simply these: Trump, do you believe our elections are sacrosanct and must not under any circumstances be influenced by any other government? Trump, do you already have a deal in place to reward a country that may have already hacked the political party of your opponent in this election? Trump, are you loyal to the concept of democracy? Trump, are you loyal to the United States of America?”

Watch, below.

The post Keith Olbermann Wonders If Trump Is a Traitor: ‘Are You Loyal to the United States of America?’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Keith Olbermann Wonders If Trump Is a Traitor: ‘Are You Loyal to the United States of America?’

Actor Gethin Anthony Reflects on His Gay Role on ‘Game of Thrones’ – VIDEO

Actor Gethin Anthony (above right) is speaking out about playing one of the only openly gay characters on the popular HBO series Game of Thrones.

As Renly Baratheon, Anthony played lover to Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) and would-be king of Westeros vying for the Iron Throne. While Renly met an untimely end in the second season of Game of Thrones, his relationship with Loras was notable because of the way it portrayed a gay couple in a world that is unfriendly to gay people.

In an interview with Attitude, Anthony says, “Westeros is a very scary world, with all the politics and violence going on, so it was nice to play an affectionate gay couple within that world.”

Anthony adds that he and Finn Jones were very intent on depicting the relationship lovingly. “We were very passionate about it being a positive thing. I still hold on to that and I’m still very proud of it,” he explains.

HBO/Helen Sloan

As for the impact the on-screen couple had on real life gay couples, Anthony says,

“I got some lovely letters. One that sticks out was from a gentleman who was about to propose, or has perhaps just proposed, to his partner.He said some really nice things about seeing a gay relationship on television. Whenever people connect to things you’re involved with or a story you’re telling, it’s a lovely thing.”

Watch a scene featuring Anthony as Renly, below.

[h/t WinterIsComing.net]

The post Actor Gethin Anthony Reflects on His Gay Role on ‘Game of Thrones’ – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Actor Gethin Anthony Reflects on His Gay Role on ‘Game of Thrones’ – VIDEO

HRC Staff Joins White House for Bisexual Community Briefing

HRC staff this week joined other advocates at the White House complex for the Obama administration’s second annual Bisexual Community Briefing. The event was held in conjunction with Bisexual Awareness Week, also known as #BiWeek, which culminated on Friday with Celebrate Bisexuality Day.

HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools Project Coordinator Charles Girard spoke on a panel about Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid and Bi+ Communities, and HRC Membership Outreach Coordinator Laya Monarez spoke on a panel about Bisexual People of Color Communities. Other HRC staff, including, Helen Parshall, HRC Diversity & Inclusion Assistant, and Lisbeth M Meléndez Rivera, HRC Director of Latino/a and Catholic Initiatives, also attended.

“As a Latina Bisexual Transgender Woman I have faced a lot of oppression and discrimination,” Monarez said. “Being able to speak about these issues and be a part of such a strong community that was being celebrated at the White House felt very validating. My whole life I’ve been taught that my identities will keep me from success, yet I can now say I’m the first of my family to ever speak for my communities at the White House.”

As bisexual people continue to gain visibility and awareness, there are a variety of issues that plague their community. Compared to other groups in the LGBTQ community, bisexuals face striking rates of poor health outcomes, ranging from cancer and obesity to sexually transmitted infections to mental health problems. Additionally, bisexual youth face a unique set of challenges that affect their ability to flourish in their families, schools and communities.

“As a young bisexual woman, it was a privilege to be invited to the White House for this event,” Parshall said. “It was a celebration of the breadth of our community, an examination of the intersections of our identities, and a recommitment to continue to strive for greater inclusion. It was incredibly powerful to stand up in a room of bi+ identified activists​ across the generations​ and ​to ​share in the commitment to continue to grow this work and stand together at the intersections of oppression.”

President Obama’s legacy of progress for the LGBTQ community is unmatched in history. HRC applauds the White House for hosting the events and thanks the Obama Administration for including HRC in this vital conversation.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-staff-joins-white-house-for-bisexual-community-briefing?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Clinton v. Trump: Marriage Equality

This election year, everything we’ve fought for is on the line. We have seen so much progress for the LGBTQ community under the leadership of President Barack Obama, and it all could be reversed by a Donald Trump presidency. Trump has attacked, belittled and maligned anyone and everyone he considers different.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has made LGBTQ equality a cornerstone of her campaign, proving herself a champion for LGBTQ rights both at home and abroad. From military inclusion, to advocating for inclusive non-discrimination policies, to supporting transgender youth, to combating violence, it is clear that Hillary Clinton stands on the right side of history with HRC.

Here’s where the candidates stand on marriage equality:

Donald Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality. He said that he opposed it because he was a “traditional” guy, choosing to support domestic partnership benefits instead. Trump later reversed himself and said he also opposed civil unions. Despite a brief flirtation with “evolving” in 2013, Trump has consistently maintained his opposition to marriage equality, sometimes by citing polling and making an analogy to his dislike of long golf putters. After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said the court had made its decision and, although he disagreed with the ruling, he did not support a constitutional amendment that would allow states to re-ban marriage equality. He later said he would appoint Supreme Court judges who would be committed to overturning the ruling.

In 2013, Hillary Clinton announced her support for marriage equality in an exclusive video for the Human Rights Campaign.

“LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones – and they are full and equal citizens, and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage,” Clinton said in the video. “That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law, embedded in a broader effort to advance equality and opportunity for LGBT Americans and for all Americans. […] To deny the opportunity to any of our daughters and sons solely on the basis of who they are and who they love is to deny them the chance to live up to their God given potential.” – Hillary Clinton

In 2004 and again in 2006, then-Senator Clinton voted against the discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment. The following year, in response to California’s decision overturning Proposition 8, Clinton said LGBTQ couples should have the “same rights and responsibilities as all Americans.”

Hillary Clinton understands what is at stake in this election and has made it clear she is committed to appointing justices to the Supreme Court “who will protect the constitutional principles of liberty and equality for all, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or political viewpoint” and said that the Obergefell ruling “was a clear reminder of what any court can do: stand for equality or against it; make America a fairer place, or roll back the progress we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

www.hrc.org/blog/clinton-v.-trump-marriage-equality?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC Hosts Public Policy Roundtable for Business Leaders

Today, HRC held a public policy roundtable for corporate leaders engaged in supporting basic civil rights for LGBTQ people. These businesses lead the way on LGBTQ equality under the law through public engagement and support of basic civil rights protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity as well as through public opposition of anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Gathering at HRC’s office in Washington, D.C., representatives from government affairs, public policy and community relations of leading corporations heard firsthand from HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof as well as David Stacy, Director Government Affairs, Sarah Warbelow, Legal Director and Jeremy Pittman, Deputy Field Director. The HRC team reviewed the landscape of LGBTQ-related legislative matters including the Equality Act, current LGBTQ-related litigation and state legislative action anticipated for 2017.

Companies committed to full inclusion are driven by business imperatives to attract and retain top talent, fully engage LGBTQ workers and to have access to fair-minded consumers and investors. These leaders are active in opposing anti-LGBTQ legislation across the states. Currently, over 200 business leaders continue to call for the full repeal of North Carolina’s discriminatory House Bill 2 and earlier this year businesses were active in helping to defeat anti-LGBTQ legislation in Georgia and Missouri.

Attendees heard more about HRC’s growing Business Coalition for the Equality Act, a group of 84 leading U.S. employers that support the Equality Act, federal legislation that would provide the same basic protections to LGBTQ people as are provided to other protected groups under federal law. The Equality Act creates clear, consistent protections to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment ensuring that LGBTQ employees are hired, fired, and promoted based on their performance. In addition, the bill provides protections from discrimination for LGBTQ people in housing, credit and jury service. The bill would also prohibit discrimination in public accommodations and federal funding on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Through their thoughtful engagement on state legislation, support of LGBTQ-inclusive federal-level civil rights protections and commitment to LGBTQ inclusion around the globe, leading American businesses continue to communicate that LGBTQ diversity and inclusion is not only a sound business practice but truly a market imperative.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-hosts-public-policy-roundtable-for-business-leaders?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Stars Come Out for LA LGBT Center's Annual Awards (Photos)

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2016/9/28/stars-come-out-la-lgbt-centers-annual-awards-photos

Insightful Poll Reveals Who Opposes LGBT People on Two Big Issues

The Pew Research Center asked Americans about bathroom access and refusing wedding services.

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/9/28/insightful-poll-reveals-who-opposes-lgbt-people-two-big-issues

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Winner Tyra Sanchez Releases Hot New Track, Serious Iggy Azalea Vibes

Yeah, we know most people aren’t the biggest fan of RuPaul‘s Drag Race season 2 winner Tyra Sanchez – she was controversial during her time on the show, and her post-show career hasn’t been a smooth ride either. Nevertheless, her new track Vogue is seriously hot, and worth a listen.

The song’s beat is reminiscent of something you might hear from Iggy Azalea or Azealia Banks, with lyrics that call out all of Tyra’s haters in a very (*cough*) gentle (*cough*) manner. We’re feeling it.

“For the past few months I’ve been working to achieve my dreams,” Tyra shared. “Through my music I am able to freely express myself in an artistic way, which is really good for me because – as we all know – I can be very vocal in ways that doesn’t seem acceptable to the general public. All the negative energy haters send to me I take it, harness it and transform it into an unapologetic rage that I release through lyrics. I hope Vogue can be an awesome inspiration to anyone that receives unwanted hate.”

“Sorry America – I have a potty mouth and I speak whatever I feel,” Tyra apologized. “I recorded and mastered Vogue all by myself. I hope you enjoy it!”

To accompany the track, which can be downloaded on Soundcloud for free, Tyra also released a fierce promo image styled to imitate a Vogue Magazine cover. Not only does Tyra look gorgeous, but the fake articles give you some insight into what the song is about (and who she’s singing it for).

If people are going to call you a b*tch anyways, might as well own it and give them what they want. Props to ya, Tyra.

Listen to the track on Soundcloud.

www.queerty.com/rupauls-drag-race-winner-tyra-sanchez-releases-hot-new-track-serious-iggy-azalea-vibes-20160928?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Randy Rainbow Moderates The First Debate; It’s Super

The first presidential debate was quite the show, full of shimmies, zingers and sniffles. The anticipation and expectations that Clinton v. Trump would be anything but usual proved out.

Related: Randy Rainbow Sits Down With Trump And Things Get Weird, Fast

While it’s hard to imagine it swayed anyone with their minds even halfway made up in this election cycle, it did provide plenty of fodder for discussion. And for Randy Rainbow to make one of his best videos to date.

Rainbow seizes on Trump’s use of the word “braggadocious,” which Merriam-Webster roasted him for on Twitter, to launch into a parody of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” that goes after him for trying to sound smart and casts him as “Super Sleazy Fabricating Sexist and Obnoxious.”

Related: Randy Rainbow’s Interview With Trump Might As Well Be True

He asks repeatedly, “Um, are you really gonna vote for this guy?”

Watch it below.

So how did he do, Lester?

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