Did Police Treat Grindr Serial Killer’s Victims Differently Because They Were Gay Men?

There’s a horrifying story coming out of England, where gay serial killer Stephen Port was recently sentenced: the victim’s families claim there was significant police bias.

The backstory: Port lured four men to their deaths using online apps, poisoning them with GHB, and hiding their corpses.

Related: Grindr Serial Killer Stephen Port Found Guilty In Murders Of Four Gay Men

Members of the victims’ families claim police simply assumed all the men killed themselves with careless drug use, chalking it up to homosexuals doing too many party drugs.

Allegedly, family members tried telling police that the young victims weren’t the type to use drugs.

Those explanations fell on deaf ears.

Related: Doctor Explains Why You’re Addicted To Grindr

Police initially claimed the deaths were accidental and completely unrelated.

Port wrote a fake suicide note that spun a story about one victim killing the other in a passionate murder-suicide.

Police lazily took that claim at face value — despite the fact that the handwriting on the note shared no resemblance to the victim’s handwriting.

“We kept saying to [the police] from the start if this was a woman you’d be doing a lot more than what you are,” said one victim’s mother.

Said another:

If Anthony had been a 23-year-old girl and then Gabriel and then Daniel, if they had all been girls in that area found in suspicious circumstances I think there would have been a lot more media coverage as well and a massive part of this investigation by the police was homophobic, I really do think that.”

Stephen Port was sentenced on November 25th, and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

www.queerty.com/police-treat-grindr-serial-killers-victims-differently-gay-men-20161208?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Seth Meyers to Media Normalizing White Supremacists: ‘Get Your Sh*t Together’ – WATCH

Seth Meyers has a message for media and news organizations who are partaking in the normalization of the so-called “alt right”: “get you sh*t together.”

Meyers pointed out several stories that downplayed the danger posed by white nationalists in America. Referring to a CNN headline that read, “Hipster or hate monger? The trendy young face of Austria’s far right”, Meyers asked, “How do you confuse hipsters with Nazis?”

He then quipped: “Nazis like to invade other people’s territory and turn it into a utopia for the white race–okay, okay. Now I see the confusion. But still!”

Meyers also pointed out that we don’t have to call the Alt-Right the Alt-Right simply because they prefer that name to white supremacists.

Said Meyers, “Calling Nazis and white supremacists the Alt-Right is like calling OJ Simpson a cutlery enthusiast.”

Watch, below.

The post Seth Meyers to Media Normalizing White Supremacists: ‘Get Your Sh*t Together’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Seth Meyers to Media Normalizing White Supremacists: ‘Get Your Sh*t Together’ – WATCH

HRC Releases Global Spotlight Highlighting Dire Situation for LGBTQ People in Egypt

Today, HRC Global released a Global Spotlight on Egypt highlighting the persecution and harassment of LGBTQ people in Egypt by both the state and society.

The overall situation facing LGBTQ Egyptians today is grim as social, cultural, political and religious attitudes towards them are uniformly hostile. Successive governments and the media have hounded LGBTQ people since the early 2000’s during the regime of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.

While there was a brief lull in persecution between 2011 and 2013 during the Arab Spring and its immediate aftermath, the persecution has resumed with renewed ferocity under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who seized power in a July 2013 military coup. LGBTQ Egyptians have been hunted down by the regime as part of an ongoing wider crackdown by Egyptian authorities on civil society activists and organizations.

This report was released to mark the two-year anniversary of the infamous raid on a downtown Cairo hammam, or bathhouse, where television journalist Mona Iraqi photographed and filmed half naked men as police arrested them.

Iraqi posted an incendiary Facebook post shortly after the raid in which she labeled the bathhouse as the “biggest den for group perversion” and a “den for spreading AIDS in Egypt.” Twenty-six men were slapped with “debauchery” charges by the government before eventually being acquitted in January 2015. Iraqi faced sharp criticism from Egyptian activists and international observers for her involvement in the raid.

This Spotlight is the fourth in a series of articles that have drawn attention to a variety of issues affecting LGBTQ people around the world. The three previous Spotlights were on China, Uganda and Brazil. HRC is committed to supporting LGBTQ activists in Egypt and elsewhere. Read more about our work here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-releases-global-spotlight-highlighting-dire-situation-for-lgbtq-people?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Michelle Obama Won't Back Down from Criticizing Trump

The First Lady told People that just because she and her husband are aiding in the transition effort doesn’t mean she takes back anything she said about Trump during the election.

www.advocate.com/election/2016/12/08/michelle-obama-wont-back-down-criticizing-trump

Russell Tovey Was Very Upset Over His Femme Controversy

Stop what you’re doing — Russell Tovey is upset.

Last year, the actor ruffled feathers by saying he was grateful for all the childhood bullying that cured him of being “really effeminate.”

Related: WATCH: Fleshy First Look At Russell Tovey’s Gay Football Film “The Pass”

Well, now he’s a year older and perhaps wiser. Or perhaps not.

In a new interview with Attitude, he says he “never meant to upset anyone.”

Things come out the way you don’t intend them to. It was a very upsetting time for me. … I learned from it and I’ve grown from it. … I’ve found you’ve just got to be true to yourself, be a good person and the work should speak for itself.”

Related: Russell Tovey’s Very Revealing Selfie Is The Stuff of Dreams

At least he recognizes that he said something hurtful, intimating that that there’s something wrong with being effeminate.

Well, now that he’s committed to being himself and being a good person, it’s a perfect time to explain how being effeminate is totally great.

Go ahead, Russell, we’re waiting.

www.queerty.com/russell-tovey-upset-femme-controversy-20161208?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Check Out These Show-Stopping Highlights from ‘Hairspray Live!’ – VIDEOS

If you missed Hairspray Live! last night, you’re in luck because many of the musical numbers featured in NBC’s latest live musical from producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have been posted online.

The show had an all-star cast featuring Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Hudson, Martin Short, Harvey Fierstein, Garrett Clayton, Ariana Grande, Dove Cameron, Ephraim Sykes, Derek Hough, Billy Eichner, Sean Hayes, Andrea Martin, Rosie O’Donnell, and more.

Jennifer Hudson and Kristin Chenoweth were particular standouts for their powerhouse performances.

Check out highlights from the show, below.

“Good Morning, Baltimore!”

Maddie Bailie makes her debut as Tracy Turnblad.

“The Nicest Kids in Town”

Enter Derek Hough as Corny Collins.

“Welcome to the 60s”

This was pretty spectacular.

“Run and Tell That”

Plus Garrett Clayton in short shorts.

“Timeless to Me”

“I Know Where I’ve Been”

Jennifer Hudson slays all day.

The post Check Out These Show-Stopping Highlights from ‘Hairspray Live!’ – VIDEOS appeared first on Towleroad.

Check Out These Show-Stopping Highlights from ‘Hairspray Live!’ – VIDEOS

Congress Passes Annual Defense Bill Without Anti-LGBTQ Amendment

Today, HRC issued the following statement after the U.S House of Representatives and U.S. Senate passed the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The final version of the legislation did not include a House-passed provision that would have dramatically expanded religious discrimination with taxpayer funds and undermined President Obama’s executive order prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination in federal contracting. The provision — proposed by Representative Steve Russell (R-OK) under the guise of so-called “religious liberty” — had been previously included in the House version of the bill, but not in the Senate version. Conferees did not include it in the conference report.

“While we won this battle, the threat to fairness and equality remains. Now is the time for all of us to double-down on our work. Put your lawmaker’s number on speed-dial, thank them for rejecting the Russell Amendment, and make clear you won’t stand for any attempt to deny or rollback critical protections for LGBTQ people, women, people of color, or any other group of Americans,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “The next administration and members of Congress should look at the lesson learned in North Carolina, where anti-LGBTQ discrimination cost Governor McCrory his election. That sentiment is not unique to the Tar Heel State. Seven in 10 voters across the nation — including 55 percent of those who voted for President-Elect Trump — support the Equality Act’s non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. The federal government should never be in the business of creating taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ Americans.”

The Russell amendment could have allowed sweeping, taxpayer-funded discrimination in an attempt to promote anti-LGBTQ religious-based discrimination in all contracts and grants across the entire federal government. With far-reaching intended and unintended consequences, the vague amendment could have even undermined existing non-discrimination provisions that protect workers, and perhaps even beneficiaries, against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more.

www.hrc.org/blog/congress-passes-annual-defense-bill-NDAA-without-anti-lgbtq-amendment?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Groundbreaking New Study Reveals The Most Popular Positions In The Bedroom

A new survey asked people from all around the world about their favorite sexual positions. The study was conducted by a team at Dr. Ed, an online doctor, and included roughly 2,000 people in the United States and Europe. Here’s what researchers found…

Nearly 54 percent of men said they got most of their sexual inspiration from adult films. 22 percent said they got it from the internet, but not from skin flicks. And 16 percent said they got it from their partners.

Related: Great News! Study Finds Gay Couples Have Happier, Healthier Sex Lives!

Doggy style rated the #1 preferred position for all men–gay, bisexual, and straight. According to the experts, the position “allows for deeper penetration,” making the G-spot easier to access. From there, both gay and straight men said missionary was their #2 choice, while bisexual men chose cowgirl as #2.

When it came to things they’d like to try, gay men rated 69 standing up as #1, followed by tabletop at #2 and kneeling wheelbarrow at #3. Meanwhile, both bisexual and straight men chose tabletop for #1, followed by 69 standing up at #2 and kneeling wheelbarrow at #3.

Related: Bisexuals Are On Track To Take Over The World, Study Suggests

Finally, when it came to their biggest fears in bed, nearly 38 percent of men said they were most afraid of hurting their partners. 23.5 percent said they feared they weren’t flexible enough to do the job right. And 21 percent said they were afraid they’d mess up and seem inexperienced.

Check out the rest of the survey results.

www.queerty.com/groundbreaking-new-study-reveals-popular-positions-bedroom-20161208?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Zac Efron Bares His Hard Body in First ‘Baywatch’ Trailer – WATCH

The lead-up to the release of the Baywatch movie could be described as a giant thirst-trap in which Zac Efron’s rock-hard body has a starring role. 

After months of teasing, we now get to see that body in motion.

In the first trailer for the movie-remake of the famous(ly cheesy) 90s TV series, we learn that Efron plays a hard-partying former Olympian who’s brought in to help revamp the Baywatch brand after a series of budget cuts.

Lochte-esque, no?

Efron joins Dwayne Johnson, who’s already a sort of lifeguard-in-chief, but the pair don’t hit it off right away. The two start to get closer after a dead body is dumped on their beach and they struggle to discover what sort of sinister force is at play.

Watch the trailer, below.

The post Zac Efron Bares His Hard Body in First ‘Baywatch’ Trailer – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Zac Efron Bares His Hard Body in First ‘Baywatch’ Trailer – WATCH