Betty Who, Trace Lysette, Rumer Willis, Vella Lovell, Lauren Weedman and More Lip Sync Cher’s ABBA-esque ‘S.O.S.’ Video: WATCH

Cher enlisted an all-female cast including recording artist Betty Who, trans Transparent actress Trace Lysette, Rumer Willis, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Vella Lovell, Looking‘s Lauren Weedman, model and filmmaker Destiny Anderson, model Lyauna Augmon, Level Up actress Aimee Carrero, Ocean’s 8 actress Sas Goldberg, out comic Sabrina Jalees, Wolfie McCann-Jalees, actress and model Vivien James, Shirley Grajeda Pennington, and Bree Sparks to lip-sync her single “S.O.S.” in the official video, directed by Jake Wilson. Wilson utilizes classic ABBA shot set-ups, a few similar to the band’s original video.

The post Betty Who, Trace Lysette, Rumer Willis, Vella Lovell, Lauren Weedman and More Lip Sync Cher’s ABBA-esque ‘S.O.S.’ Video: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Betty Who, Trace Lysette, Rumer Willis, Vella Lovell, Lauren Weedman and More Lip Sync Cher’s ABBA-esque ‘S.O.S.’ Video: WATCH

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: September 19, 2018

HRC PLACES NEWSPAPER ADS IN ALASKA & MAINE TO STOP KAVANAUGH: As Brett Kavanaugh’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination hangs in the balance, HRC, Alaskans Together, Equality Maine and National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) launched full-page newspaper ads in Alaska and Maine highlighting the grave threat he poses to LGBTQ equality, reproductive rights and the Affordable Care Act. The ads, appearing in Maine Sunday Telegram, Anchorage Daily News and Bangor Daily News, encourage fair-minded Mainers and Alaskans to contact Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), to make their voices heard about the dangers of a Justice Kavanaugh. More from HRC.

.@HRC placed full-page newspaper ads with @NWLC in Alaska and Maine calling out the grave threat Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court poses to LGBTQ equality, reproductive rights and affordable health care. We must #StopKavanaugh. t.co/v4DMlIT0xM pic.twitter.com/QYFZwJjJgG

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) September 18, 2018

• Laura, the mother of a transgender child, also wrote a powerful oped in the Press Herald about how her son and other children like him could lose crucial protections against discrimination if Kavanaugh is confirmed. More from the Press Herald.
• NEW DIGITAL AD FEATURING JOHN LEGEND: HRC and 12 other civil rights organizations have joined an effort from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on a new digital ad featuring the EGOT winner to urge viewers to call their senators to tell them to vote ‘no’ on Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Watch here.

TRUMP-PENCE ADMINISTRATION’S UNCONSCIONABLE DECISION TO AGAIN LOWER REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CAP PUTS COUNTLESS LIVES AT RISK: The decision to lower the cap from 45,000 to just 30,000 further undermines U.S. human rights leadership in the world. These actions come as the Trump-Pence administration abandons U.S. leadership on human rights around the globe, including the atrocities being endured by LGBTQ people in Chechnya, Egypt and Malaysia. HRC calls on Congress to take action to ensure that refugees are welcome here. More from The New York Times.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING WEDNESDAY — GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE STACEY ABRAMS SPEAKS TO HER ALLYSHIP AND HER FAITH:

MUST WATCH: Georgia gubernatorial candidate @staceyabrams spoke to @HRC members and supporters ahead of the #HRCNationalDinner to implore #EqualityVoters nationwide to #TurnOUT the vote to elect pro-equality majorities up and down the ballot this November. pic.twitter.com/sp44WhZcl0

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) September 17, 2018

HRC MOURNS JANELLE ORTIZ, TRANS WOMAN KILLED BY BORDER PATROL AGENT ALLEGEDLY ENGAGED IN TARGETED “KILLING SPREE”: HRC is shocked and horrified to learn about the death of Janelle Ortiz, a Latinx transgender woman who lived in Laredo, Texas. Ortiz, 28, was one of four women killed in the past two weeks in what local officials describe as a “serial killing spree” allegedly carried out by an intel supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol. More from HRC.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS RELEASES STATEMENT SUPPORTING AND AFFIRMING TRANS AND GENDER-DIVERSE YOUTH: “This statement further reinforces the medical and moral imperative to support transgender and gender-diverse youth,” said Ellen Kahn, Director of the HRC Foundation’s Children, Youth and Families Program. “Pediatricians have a critical role to play in both providing care to patients and in advocating for protections that support the mental and physical health of the public, and this statement by the AAP continues their long record of supporting the health of all youth.” More from NBC.

HUNTSVILLE (ALA.) STUDENT SUES SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ITS PERCEIVED INADEQUATE RESPONSE TO BULLYING: Zelda Menefee’s federal civil rights lawsuit also names former Superintendent Casey Wardynski and eight other teachers and school employees. Said Sara Ann MacIsaac, HRC Alabama Field Organizer: “Unfortunately, LGBTQ — and especially transgender — students face disproportionate levels of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in schools. Yet, many school administrators remain woefully unprepared and unsupported to deal with the type of bias-based discrimination that occurs on a systemic level.” More from Tuscaloosa News.

KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT FILES LAWSUIT ALLEGING INADEQUATE RESPOSE TO ANTI-LGBTQ BULLYING: More from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

HRC MOURNS JANET WEINBERG, LGBTQ AND DISABILITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST: More from The New York Times.

ADVOCATE TO PREMIERE DOCUMENTARY HONORING ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY: More from Advocate.

U.S. SWIMMER ABRAHM DEVINE COMES OUT AS GAY IN AN INTERVIEW WITH SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

SHAMEFUL — ROMANIA TO HOLD REFERENDUM IN OCTOBER TO ENSHRINE DISCRIMINATION IN COUNTRY’S CONSTITUTION: Anti-equality activists are asking to amend the constitution to define a union as between “a man and a woman,” rather than the existing language of “spouses.” More from Independent.

BRAZILIAN SOCCER CLUB CALLS OUT FANS FOR ANTI-LGBTQ CHANT: More from The Associated Press.

 READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

The Conversation explores the needs of LGBTQ people living in suburbs; The New York Times interviews LGBTQ artists about caputuring men’s bodies in art; NPR looks at the struggles faced by LGBTQ people seeking medical care in India

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and not authorized by any candidate or committee.

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

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-september-19-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

90 Photos of Leather, Flesh, and Fantasy at Folsom Europe In Berlin

www.advocate.com/photography/2018/9/19/90-photos-leather-flesh-and-fantasy-folsom-europe-berlin

Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, and Jimmy Fallon Tee Up Jokes About Trump’s ‘Mario Kart’ Junk: WATCH

Late night hosts devoured excerpts from Stormy Daniels’ new book Full Disclosure describing her sex with Donald Trump, specifically his junk, which she vividly described as looking like the character Toad from the Nintendo game Mario Kart, with Yeti pubes.

Said Meyers: “So for once, I’m gonna say let’s not take a closer look. That’s a joke about the news. You might be saying, ‘How dare you make a joke about a penis looking like a video game character.’ That’s the f**king news right now. My head’s not in the gutter. It’s in the news, which is in the gutter.”

Jimmy Kimmel also took note of the excerpts.

Said Kimmel: “She describes Trump’s penis as ‘smaller than average,’ but admitted that she was impressed that it had his name embossed in gold on it.”

After reading the excerpt, Kimmel declared, “And just like that, I will not eat a mushroom or play a video game ever again…I can’t wait for a reporter to ask Sarah Huckabee Sanders to deny that. Because that’s going to be magic.”

James Corden scolded Daniels for not knowing the name of the Mario Kart character:

Said Corden, reading the excerpt: “She does not hold back…Now listen, no matter what your politics are that’s just disrespectful. He’s not the ‘mushroom character’ from Mario Kart. His name is Toad…This is awful. It’s not enough that Trump has ruined reality for most of us. He’s also ruined video games…She’s comparing his genitals to a video game character. This all makes sense when you consider the president’s balls look like Wario’s chin.”

Corden then mocked Trump’s “yeti pubes.” – “Let’s be honest, that sounds more like President Bush.”

And Jimmy Fallon couldn’t hold back.

Said Fallon, who had a hard time talking about Trump’s tower: “In the new Mario Kart, Toad collects gold coins and uses them as hush money.”

The post Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, and Jimmy Fallon Tee Up Jokes About Trump’s ‘Mario Kart’ Junk: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, and Jimmy Fallon Tee Up Jokes About Trump’s ‘Mario Kart’ Junk: WATCH

HRC Mourns Janelle Ortiz, Trans Woman Killed by Border Agent Who Allegedly Had a “Killing Spree”

HRC is shocked and horrified to learn about the death of Janelle Ortiz, a Latinx transgender woman who lived in Laredo, Texas. Ortiz, 28, was one of four women killed in the past two weeks in what local officials describe as a “serial killing spree” allegedly carried out by an intel supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol.

According to the Texas Tribune, the killings ended only after a fifth woman was kidnapped but managed to escape and alert authorities. It has been reported that Ortiz was the last victim — fatally shot just hours before the border patrol agent was tracked down and arrested on September 15. Her body was later found near a gravel pit.

Ortiz is survived by numerous loved ones, including her parents, four siblings, extended family and friends. They spoke with local media, saying that they were “sad and in disbelief” at her death.

Her mother, Edna, recalls that Ortiz “had a lot of friends” and was a “high-spirited person who would never get mad and was always smiling.” Cousin Veronica Castillo described her as a “nice” and “very outgoing” person who loved to party and was beloved by the local LGBTQ community.

Ortiz’s tragic killing follows months of alarming actions taken by the Trump-Pence administration at the southern border, which threaten the well-being and lives of many, including and especially those who are LGBTQ, Latinx and/or immigrants. Earlier this summer, HRC called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Roxsana Hernandez, a transgender asylum seeker living with HIV who died while in ICE custody. Other disturbing reports indicate that ICE may still be incarcerating dozens of Central American transgender asylum seekers in squalid, inhumane conditions.

Rolling Stone reports that Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina said that the suspect in the killing spree utilized “information he had access to through his job” at the U.S. Border Patrol to monitor and evade police efforts to track him down.

Across the country and around the world, transgender people — and especially transgender women of color — still face bias, discrimination and violence in too many facets of life. Limited access to education, employment, health care and social services can result in higher rates of poverty and homelessness. These dire circumstances can lead some individuals to become involved in survival sex work, which Janelle Ortiz and the other three slain women were reportedly engaging in when they were allegedly kidnapped and killed.

According to Chief Deputy Federico Garza of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office, the alleged killer may have targeted his victims based on their vulnerability, profession and “the dislike that he had for this community of people.” Garza also indicated to reporters that he was “not confident” whether or not there are more victims still yet to be found.

Alarmingly, Ortiz’s death is the fifth known killing of a trans woman of color in the last three weeks alone. It also marks the 21st known killing of a transgender or gender-expansive person in 2018. Of these, at least eight are suspected to have been engaging in survival sex work at the time of their deaths.

Last fall, the HRC Foundation and the Trans People of Color Coalition released a comprehensive report detailing this tragic epidemic that made 2017 the deadliest year on record for transgender people. If this disturbing trend continues, 2018 may soon see more reported lives lost than in the previous year.

To learn more about HRC’s transgender justice work, visit hrc.org/Transgender.

Note: As is too often the case in the reporting of anti-transgender violence, Ortiz was originally — and continues to be — misgendered in local police statements and media reports. In the pursuit of greater accuracy and respect, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others who report on transgender people.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-janelle-ortiz-trans-woman-killed-by-border-agent?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Postcard From Jerusalem: The Fight for LGBTQ Equality in Israel

Out Arizona politician Daniel Hernandez Jr. — who became known to many after he saved Rep. Gabby Giffords’s life — on an eye-opening trip to the Middle East.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/9/19/postcard-jerusalem-fight-lgbtq-equality-israel