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Monthly Archives: October 2016
17 People Who Kicked Down The Closet Door This Year (So Far)
17 People Who Kicked Down The Closet Door This Year (So Far)
Every day someone helps further LGBTQ acceptance by coming out and proudly proclaiming who they are for the very first time.
This year, students, singers, politicians, filmmakers, actors, models, athletes, British Royal Family members and many more publicly added to that rainbow chorus that is enveloping the world.
We’re celebrating National Coming Out Day with a look back at these 17 people who bravely kicked down the closet door in 2016 and helped change the world for the better by simply being themselves.
1. Brian Anderson
The legendary pro skateboarder came out as gay in a Vice Sports mini-documentary.
“I consider myself a skateboarder first, gay second,” he said. “I’m a skater, that’s all I know.”
2. Colton Haynes
The actor/model ended years of speculation about his sexuality this year when he came out to Entertainment Weekly in May and opened up about the difficult journey he’s had on the way to becoming a totally out and proud gay man.
“It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m doing so good,” Haynes said. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about.”
3. Lilly Wachowski
Following in the footsteps of her sister and directing partner Lana Wachowski, The Matrix and Sense8 co-creator revealed she is also a transgender woman and encouraged a new approach to the way we discuss the concept of gender.
“We need to elevate the dialogue beyond the simplicity of binary,” she said in a statement published by the Windy City Times. “Binary is a false idol.”
4. Lord Ivar Mountbatten
Queen Elizabeth’s cousin is the first member of British Royal Family to utter the words, “I’m gay.” Lord Ivar Mountbatten came out in an interview with the Daily Mail in September.
“When I was growing up, it was known as ‘the love that dare not speak its name,’ but what’s amazing now is how far we have all come in terms of acceptance,” he said.
5. Ryan Beatty
“Proud to be a raging homosexual. It’s taken 20 years of suffocating in the closet for me to become comfortable enough to say it, but now I can finally breathe. I did it!” the 20-year-old singer revealed on Instagram in June.
6. Nyle DiMarco
He made history as the first deaf contestant to compete on America’s Next Top Model and then made his legions of queer fans very happy when he stated that he is sexually fluid after a fan tweeted him asking if he liked boys or girls.
7. Waylon Smithers
Finally, after 27 seasons, Mr. Burns’ right-hand man kicked down the closet door and officially ended the longest coming out story in history in the April 3rd episode of The Simpsons.
8. Brandon Davis
In a moving interview with OutSports, the Montana State football and rugby player opened up about the difficulties of being an out college athlete.
“My name is Brandon Davis, and I am a proud gay African-American athlete,” he said. “There’s no better copy than the original, and there is no better feeling in the world waking up without having to put on a mask. Know who you are and be yourself, you only get one time to be alive so don’t waste your years being a replica of what society wants you to be.”
9. Charlie Carver
Teen Wolf and Desperate Housewives heartthrob Charlie Carver started off the year with a bang by coming out as gay in a touching five-part essay on Instagram and noted his identical twin brother, Max, “is just as cool for being straight.”
10. Aubrey Plaza
The Parks and Recreation star, who also voiced the Internet’s most famous feline in Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever, came out as bisexual in an interview with The Advocate.
“Girls are into me — that’s no secret. Hey, I’m into them too. I fall in love with girls and guys. I can’t help it,” she said.
11. Stephanie Beatriz
Stephanie Beatriz took advantage of Aubrey Plaza’s coming out to reveal she swings both ways as well. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star tweeted a link to Plaza’s comments about falling in love with both sexes with a simple, “Yup.” She then followed up after a fan asked for clarification with another tweet that read “yes y’all” and included an emoji of a man kissing a woman as well as one of two women kissing.
12. Nathan Fort
The college basketball player from rural Arkansas came out as gay and bravely discussed being a survivor of sexual assault in a heart-wrenching piece he penned for OutSports.
“It’s important to me to share this now because I know many other guys have been in similar situations,” he wrote.
13. Trey Pearson
Christian rock singer Trey Pearson boldly came out in an emotional letter that fueled a feature on him in 614 Columbus magazine.
He wrote, “To make an extremely long story short, I have come to be able to admit to myself, and to my family, that I am gay.”
13. Maria Munir
At a town hall event in London earlier this year, the courageous British university student came out as a non-binary person to President Obama and a room of 500 people. Munir expressed the need for world leaders to “take us seriously as transgender people” and has since gone on to further speak out for transgender civil rights.
14. James Vacca
Bronx City Councilman James Vacca fiercely came out as gay via Twitter with the added fabulosity of a Golden Girls reference.
“After talking w/ my friends & family I’ve decided to come out publicly as a gay man. Now back to the Golden Girls!” he tweeted.
15. Sara Ramirez
Best known for playing the bisexual character Callie Torres on Grey’s Anatomy, actress Sara Ramirez also revealed that she is also a bisexual person herself in a powerful speech at the True Colors 40 to None summit.
“I am deeply invested in projects that allow our youth’s voices to be heard, and that support our youth in owning their own complex narratives so that we can show up for them in the ways they need us to,” she said.
16. Sade’s Son
The only child of singer Sade came out as a trans man on Instagram, proudly proclaiming “today is the first day of the rest of my life” along with the hashtags #shotday #firstshot #finally #ftm #selfmademan #transman #proud and #yaaassss.
While he has yet to publicly reveal the name he would prefer to use, we welcome him to LGBTQ.
Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Say They’ll Continue Supporting Donald Trump
Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Say They’ll Continue Supporting Donald Trump
Failed GOP presidential candidates New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Ted Cruz say they’ll continue supporting Donald Trump despite his brags about sexually assaulting women.
Christie appeared on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton radio program on Tuesday morning hosted by radio jock Craig Carton and former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and spoke out about the vulgar Trump tapes but says he is still supporting him.
Said Christie, via Mediaite:
Christie react to Trump’s video: “It is completely indefensible. I won’t defend it.”
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
“I do think he’s sorry,” Christie says, was there when Trump found out about video. But Christie says Trump’s apology could have been better
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
“I’m still supporting Donald,” Christie says. “I’m really upset about what I heard, but in the end this election is about bigger issues.”
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
“I don’t think it’s immaterial,” Christie says, but it’s not the only thing Trump should be judged on.
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
“On the debate, I think he did much better than he did on the first one and I think she did worse,” Christie says.
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
“Who knows,” Christie says about if there are any other damning videos of Trump out there.
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
“The rank and file people do support him,” Christie says. Can Trump still win? “Well, sure,” gov responds. (Pretty tepid.)
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
Christie says, again says he was “made really uncomfortable w/ that video,” but says it can’t be the only thing Trump is judged on.
— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) October 11, 2016
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz told a local Texas TV station that he’s still with the Donald, Politico reports:
“I am supporting the Republican nominee because I think Hillary Clinton is an absolute disaster. Now my differences with Donald, I have articulated at great length during the campaign. And I tried all my might,” Cruz told Maggan Rennels of Channel 6. “It was an amazing journey.”
Rennels followed up by asking Cruz about whether he’d run for president again. Cruz didn’t rule it out: “We’ll see what the future holds.” He’s also up for reelection in 2018.
…”This is an election unlike any other, but I tell you Hillary Clinton I think is manifestly unfit to be president. The policies she’s advancing are the continuation of eight years of Barack Obama,” Cruz said after giving a brief review of Leal’s Mexican Restaurant and posing for pictures with employees. “We need to have a president, we need to have leaders in Washington that will fight to defend our jobs, to get government off our back and to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights to keep us safe.”
Watch:
The post Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Say They’ll Continue Supporting Donald Trump appeared first on Towleroad.
Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Say They’ll Continue Supporting Donald Trump
Not a Drill: This ‘Golden Girls’ Puppet Parody Is Happening Off-Broadway: REVIEW
Not a Drill: This ‘Golden Girls’ Puppet Parody Is Happening Off-Broadway: REVIEW
Picture it…wicker furniture with floral cushions in soft, pastel hues, the sound of canned violins, and the shenanigans of four women you’d swear were your best friends despite whatever age difference may exist between you.
Now imagine a hand reaching up their skirts. America’s favorite ‘80s ladies have been reunited off-Broadway — in puppet form, courtesy of That Golden Girls Show!, which opened October 3 at the DR2 theatre.
You may assume any number of things to be true of creator and director Jonathan Rockefeller’s campy homage to the cult-favorite sitcom, which has been in ceaseless syndication since its original run from 1985-1992.
Yes, the production packs in some of the show’s great punch lines and draws on various plotlines fans will find familiar (Rose’s pet fish, Blanche’s botched cosmetic surgery, Dorothy’s louse of an ex Stan). The intermissionless show consists of what seems like three half-hour episodes, stitched together with blackouts that might as well read, “To be continued…” Diehards will recognize that the story arcs here form a kind of collage rather than replicas of specific episodes, which is for the best.
No, the laughs don’t always land as they do on the series, but that’s to be expected. (How could anyone live up to the comic genius of Bea, Estelle, Betty, and Rue?) It would be impossible to reach every high bar set by the original, so a puppet parody feels like the right medium to revisit the iconic characters.
The performers are all to be applauded for tackling such well-known personalities; each of them voices their character and supplements their puppet’s performance with their own expressions and body language, while careful not to pull too much focus. As the sardonic, barrel-voiced Dorothy, Michael LaMasa is the standout of the bunch, nailing Ms. Zbornak’s razor-sharp tongue.
The puppets themselves are a treat, too, their faces subtly fixed into the characters’ most dominant state of mind. (Rose’s eyebrows are perpetually raised, while Blanche’s eyes always seem to be making whoopee.)
For all its laughs, like the series itself Rockefeller’s parody traverses such territory as the nature of life and death, and what it means to grow older, form attachments, lose your way, and find what you’ve been looking for right under your nose. The Golden Girls appealed to millions because the ladies know things about life it can take years to learn. And even their hardest-won wisdom comes with a laugh — and in this case, a whole lot of felt.
Recent theatre features…
Irving Berlin’s ‘Holiday Inn’ Twinkles on Broadway: REVIEW
‘The Encounter’ Marries Ingenuity and Tedium on Broadway: REVIEW
‘Cats’ Is Back on Broadway and Trippy As Ever: REVIEW
Judith Light Opens in Neil LaBute’s ‘All the Ways to Say I Love You’ Off-Broadway: REVIEW
Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar (photos: russ rowland)
The post Not a Drill: This ‘Golden Girls’ Puppet Parody Is Happening Off-Broadway: REVIEW appeared first on Towleroad.
Not a Drill: This ‘Golden Girls’ Puppet Parody Is Happening Off-Broadway: REVIEW
Billy Gilman Stuns ‘The Voice’ with ‘Laser’ Sharp Performance of ‘Man in the Mirror’ – WATCH
Billy Gilman Stuns ‘The Voice’ with ‘Laser’ Sharp Performance of ‘Man in the Mirror’ – WATCH
Out former child country star Billy Gilman won a head to head battle against fellow Team Adam member Andrew DeMuro on last night’s The Voice, advancing to the next round of competition after they took on Michael Jackson’s epic classic “Man in the Mirror” together.
RELATED: Gay Country Singer Billy Gilman Wows ‘The Voice’ with Beautiful Adele Cover – WATCH
Said Blake Shelton after the performance: “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a more evenly matched battle. Billy has this voice that just cuts through everything, just like a laser voice. It’s so good, man. Then Andrew has all these little runs and things that he throws in there that separates from Billy. So, I don’t think you can go wrong here either way.”
Added Alicia Keys: “Billy your voice started out in this crystal space…and then you think of where we are in the world. It ended up making me feel that maybe things aren’t so bad as they sometimes seem, so thank you for that.”
Miley Cyrus agreed. Adam Levine chose to eliminate Andrew, however.
Watch:
The post Billy Gilman Stuns ‘The Voice’ with ‘Laser’ Sharp Performance of ‘Man in the Mirror’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Billy Gilman Stuns ‘The Voice’ with ‘Laser’ Sharp Performance of ‘Man in the Mirror’ – WATCH
HRC Celebrates National Coming Out Day With Video Highlighting Celebrities Advancing Equality
HRC Celebrates National Coming Out Day With Video Highlighting Celebrities Advancing Equality
Today, the HRC Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, celebrated National Coming Out Day by releasing a new video highlighting actors, athletes, musicians, and others who are helping to advance equality by coming out and sharing their stories. HRC is also featuring guides and resources that are part of its National Coming Out Project.
“Coming out — whether as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or as an ally — is incredibly important in our fight to advance LGBTQ equality,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, HRC Senior Vice President for Programs, Research, and Training. “Research proves that when people know someone who is LGBTQ, they are far more likely to support equality. It takes bravery and courage to come out, and by speaking up and sharing our stories, we are helping to make the world a better place by changing hearts and minds.”
Every year on October 11, National Coming Out Day promotes a safe world in which LGBTQ people can live truthfully and openly. In honor of the important annual event, HRC’s new video highlights actors, athletes, musicians and YouTube sensations who have helped advance the movement for equality by coming out over the past year. Numerous celebrities and public figures have come out for equality in 2016, including Sara Ramirez, Marcelas Owens, Stefanie Dolson, Bill Kennedy, Michael Angelakos, Amandla Stenberg, Charlie Carver, Rowan Blanchard, Gus Kenworthy, Rayvon Owen, Brendan Jordan, Colton Haynes, Lilly Wachowski, Trey Pearson, Keke Palmer, Mara Wilson, Aubrey Plaza, Alexis G. Zall, Stephanie Beatriz, Claire Kittrell, Bella Thorne, Eva Gutowski, Ricky Dillon, Reid Ewing, Shawn Balentine, Nyle DiMarco, Rebecca Sugar, Elizabeth Gilbert, Brian Anderson, and Holland Taylor.
Coming out and living openly is a journey that individuals choose to make every single day of their lives. Whether it’s for the first time ever or the first time today, coming out can be an arduous journey. Every coming out experience is unique and must be navigated in the way most comfortable for the individual. To help in that journey, HRC through its National Coming Out Project has released invaluable guides and resources, including:
- A Resource Guide to Coming Out
- A Resource Guide to Coming Out as Bisexual
- Transgender Visibility Guide: A Guide to Being You
- A Resource Guide to Coming Out for African Americans
- Religion and Coming Out Issues for African Americans
- Coming Out Issues for Asian Pacific Americans
- Family and Coming Out Issues for Asian Pacific Americans
- Religion and Coming Out Issues for Asian Pacific Americans
- Coming Out Issues for Latinas and Latinos
- Family and Coming Out Issues for Latinas and Latinos
- Language and Coming Out Issues for Latinas and Latinos
- Guía de Recursos Para Salir Del Clóset
- Religion and Coming Out Issues for Latinas and Latinos
- Coming Out to Your Doctor
- Coming Out at Work
- Coming Out at Work as Transgender
- Coming Out as a Straight Supporter
- Find other coming out guides and resources
In addition to the power of coming out, this year it’s more important than ever that LGBTQ and pro-equality voters use their power to elect candidates who will support the progress we’ve made, and work to advance it in the future. With so much at stake in this year’s elections, HRC has been working throughout the year to mobilize pro-equality voters as part of an unprecedented #turnOUT campaign. In addition, HRC recently launched a multi-state voter contact effort that, for the first time, reaches well beyond the nation’s nearly 10 million LGBTQ voters to mobilize the growing ranks of allies with a history of supporting equality.
HRC Celebrates 28th Annual National Coming Out Day
HRC Celebrates 28th Annual National Coming Out Day
Today, on National Coming Out Day, as we celebrate the courage of countless LGBTQ people to live authentically, we are also reminded of the powerful impact that coming out can have by changing hearts, opening minds, and moving our country forward. Coming out is a recognition of our own individual right to live our lives to the fullest, but it also helps blaze a trail for others to do the same.
While not every LGBTQ person feels safe and comfortable coming out, those of us with the privilege and opportunity to do so can take this day to rededicate ourselves to building a world that respects and protects all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This November, those of us who have already come out have the chance to turn out to vote for a future where every person is able to live openly.
LGBTQ voters represent a significant voting bloc. Across the country, there are approximately 9.4 million potential LGBTQ voters. In battleground states like Nevada, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida, the number of LGBTQ voters exceeds the average margin of victory over the last three presidential elections.
But the power of the pro-equality vote does not end with LGBTQ people. Equality voters – Americans who are not LGBTQ, but care about our dignity and equality – increase in numbers and passion as more of their friends and loved ones come out.
2016 will be critical in preserving our progress and building on it at the local, state, and federal level. We have the chance to vote for a Congress that can pass the Equality Act and a President who will sign it into law. We have the chance to ensure a Supreme Court that respects the rights of all LGBTQ people. And we have the chance to elect local and state officials who will defeat hateful legislation, repeal discriminatory laws like North Carolina’s HB2, and move equality forward.
Coming out creates a ripple of change. When a student comes out, it can change a school. When a worker comes out, it can change a workplace. And when those of us who have come out also turn out, it can change the country.
Pledge to turn out to vote by visiting hrc.org/VoteEquality, and visit www.hrc.org/local-issues to find your home state and ensure you don’t miss the voter registration deadline.
Meet the Gay Star Travel ChatBot
Meet the Gay Star Travel ChatBot
Coming Out as a Proud Black Bi Woman Married to a Man
Coming Out as a Proud Black Bi Woman Married to a Man
National LGBTQ Task Force policy counsel Candace Bond-Theriault could easily stay in the closet but chose to break down the door.
www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/10/11/coming-out-proud-black-bi-woman-married-man
A Strip Mall Gay Bar in Detroit Helped Me Come Out
A Strip Mall Gay Bar in Detroit Helped Me Come Out
Before he was a successful fertility doctor, Guy Ringler was dipping his toe in some friendly gay waters.
www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/10/11/strip-mall-gay-bar-detroit-helped-me-come-out
