Jussie Smollett Will Sit Down with Robin Roberts For His First Interview Since Alleged Attack: WATCH

Actor Jussie Smollett will sit down for an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America tomorrow.

It will be his first time talking to a journalist directly about being the victim of a possible hate crime in Chicago last week. Smollett was hospitalized and treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after the attack.

TMZ originally reported the attack happened when Smollett, was leaving a Subway and someone yelled, “Aren’t you that f***ot Empire n*****?”  The 2 men — both white and wearing ski masks — viciously attacked Jussie as he fought back, but they beat him badly and fractured a rib. They put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him and as they left they yelled, “This is MAGA country.”

Smollett spoke about the attack on him for the first time at a performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Frank Gatson, the man who was with Smollett the night of the attack, spoke out last week in an interview with Extra.

Said Gatson: “I was there with Jussie. I’m the one who called 911, I am the one who took him to the hospital, and it was so scary, man, that was a scary night — my stomach was numb. I’m just glad I was the old man at his apartment when he got there, I was responsible. I said, ‘Let’s call the cops, let’s go to the hospital.’ Shout out to Chicago police, especially the sergeant that came and got things together and made us feel comfortable…Jussie is a very strong guy.”

Smollett turned over phone records to the Chicago Police on Monday in relation to the alleged. But, according to the police, the records are insufficient.

The Chicago Tribune reports: “Investigators had sought Smollett’s phone records since shortly after he reported the attack Jan. 29 in the 300 block of East North Water Street. But police described Smollett’s phone records as a heavily redacted document file and his manager’s records as a screenshot of phone calls that provide limited information to investigators. Chief police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said police were “appreciative” of Smollett’s cooperation in providing the records but said detectives will likely need additional data from Smollett to crack the case.”

The comments of the CPD were interpreted as them casting doubt on Smollett’s claim.

CNN’s Don Lemon, a friend of Smollett’s told Jada Pinkett Smith on her show Red Table Talk, that he checks in with the Empire actor frequently: “Lemon said that he knew everyone would be picking Smollett’s story apart and that the details are not really his concern. Instead, he said, he was interested in Smollett’s “well-being.” He texts him daily to check in, because he believes he can relate very well to his situation, as a gay, black man in the spotlight. “Sometimes he responds, sometimes he doesn’t,” he said of Smollett, adding that he seems to appreciate the concern.”

Roberts who is also Black and gay is ideally suited to navigate the waters of an interview that could be potentially disturbing and contain more revelations as the investigation continues.

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Jussie Smollett Will Sit Down with Robin Roberts For His First Interview Since Alleged Attack: WATCH

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: February 13, 2019

AHEAD OF SENATE CONFIRMATION VOTE, HRC REITERATES CALL TO REJECT WILLIAM BARR FOR U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: “William Barr has made clear that as Attorney General he would not defend and uphold civil rights laws for all Americans — including LGBTQ people,”said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy (@david_stacy). “From his deeply disturbing opposition to nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people to his record of undermining HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and awareness — Barr would perpetuate Jeff Sessions’ work to license discrimination and double down on the Trump-Pence administration’s harmful attacks on the LGBTQ community. The Senate must reject Barr’s confirmation, and Senators must make clear to the Trump-Pence White House that they will only confirm a nominee who will treat all Americans equally and with the dignity and fairness they deserve.” More from HRC.

Alarming: @Senatemajldr Mitch McConnell filed cloture for anti-LGBTQ attorney general nominee William Barr — making him one step closer to confirmation in the Senate.@HRC reiterates our call for the U.S. Senate to reject Barr’s confirmation. t.co/z3smDu5jfV

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 12, 2019

HRC URGES LAWMAKERS TO CLOSE THE DANGEROUS LOOPHOLE IN BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR GUN SALES: Scheduled for markup today in the House Judiciary Committee, H.R. 8 — the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 — would close the dangerous gap in federal law that makes it possible for individuals who are prohibited from gun possession, like domestic abusers and persons with violent criminal histories, to have easy access to firearms. For decades, LGBTQ people have been a target for bias-motivated violence, and easy access to deadly weapons has compounded this threat. Since the shooting at Pulse Nightclub, HRC has worked to elevate the need for common-sense gun violence prevention policies to keep the LGBTQ community safe. “One more death is one too many, and this common-sense, bipartisan measure would be a critical first step in addressing the crisis of gun violence impacting our communities,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. More from HRC.

WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY — OUT MAGAZINE HONORS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, DEDICATES ISSUE TO WOMEN AND NONBINARY FEMMES: Edited by Pose director, producer and transgender activist Janet Mock (@JanetMock) and Out executive director Raquel Willis (@RaquelWillis_), the cover story features five Black queer and trans women: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (@immissmajor), Barbara Smith (@TheBarbaraSmith), Tourmaline, Alicia Garza (@aliciagarza) and Charlene Carruthers (@CharleneCac). All have carried the movement forward and lead vital work around race, sexuality, gender, class and beyond. More from Out.

Guest edited by @JanetMock in honor of #WomensHistoryMonth, our March issue marks the first time in almost three decades of publishing that Out features, is written by, photographed by, and styled by only women and nonbinary femmes.

Dive in. t.co/GuBzEnlK9A

— Out Magazine (@outmagazine) February 12, 2019

HRC CALLS ON CONGRESS TO ADVANCE THE FAMILY ACT: Re-introduced yesterday in Congress, the LGBTQ-inclusive measure would establish the nation’s first-ever federal insurance program for paid family and medical leave. “American workers are too often forced to choose between their jobs and the well-being of their families, because taking paid leave is simply not an option,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “The FAMILY Act would establish a national program providing peace of mind to all families — including LGBTQ families — and bring family and medical leave policies into the 21st century.” Read more from HRC.

STATEHOUSE ROUNDUP:

• Anti-equality lawmakers in Tennessee recently introduced a bill attacking marriage equality: “As a native Tennessean, it’s disappointing to see lawmakers pushing more mean, pointless legislation that would do nothing except single out LGBTQ people in an effort to make us feel less than equal,” said HRC Press Secretary Nick Morrow. More from NBC.
• The South Dakota House of Representatives passed a discriminatory anti-trans bill yesterday, which effectively bars instructors who teach grades K-7 in the state’s public schools from instructing students on gender identity or gender expression. “If HB 1108 were to become law, it would send a strong message to LGBTQ youth that they are less than their peers,” said Cathryn Oakley, HRC State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel. Read more from HRC and the Associated Press.

NEW SURVEY FINDS MORE LGBTQ YOUNG PEOPLE ARE PLANNING TO START FAMILIES: Read more from PinkNews.

AWFUL — OPENLY GAY MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT ENDURES BULLYING, THREATS AND VIOLENCE: More from Las Cruces Sun News.

 GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

JAPAN LAUNCHES FIRST SAFE HOUSE TO SUPPORT DISPLACED LGBTQ PEOPLE: More from Gay Star News.

PUERTO RICO GOVERNMENT ISSUES LGBTQ-FRIENDLY GUIDELINES TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES: More from The Washington Blade.

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

Yahoo Entertainment interviews CNN Tonight journalist Don Lemon, who opens up about being Black and openly gay in America; ABC News highlights Andi Mack, first-ever Disney Channel series to feature an openly gay character; US Weekly features RuPaul’s Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) drag queens in upcoming TLC wedding special

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-february-13-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Proactive Love, Not Reactive Discipline, Will End Toxic Masculinity

It’s imperative that boys are shown affection and empathy from the men in their lives.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/2/13/proactive-love-not-reactive-discipline-will-end-toxic-masculinity

80 Percent of Vatican Priests are Gay, Claims Explosive New Book

In the Closet of the Vatican, a new book being published next week to coincide with the opening day of a conference at the Vatican on sexual abuse, claims that 4 out of 5 Vatican priests are gay.

The book, by French journalist and author Frédéric Martel, is 570 pages.

The Guardian reports: ‘Martel, a former adviser to the French government, conducted 1,500 interviews while researching the book, including with 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 papal ambassadors or diplomatic officials, 11 Swiss guards and more than 200 priests and seminarians, according to a report on the Catholic website the Tablet. Many spoke of an unspoken code of the “closet”, with one rule of thumb being that the more homophobic a cleric was, the more likely he was to be gay.”

Writes the publisher, Bloomsbury: “In the Closet of the Vatican exposes the rot at the heart of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church today. This brilliant piece of investigative writing is based on four years’ authoritative research, including extensive interviews with those in power. The celibacy of priests, the condemnation of the use of contraceptives, countless cases of sexual abuse, the resignation of Benedict XVI, misogyny among the clergy, the dramatic fall in Europe of the number of vocations to the priesthood, the plotting against Pope Francis – all these issues are clouded in mystery and secrecy.”

RELATED: Polish Bishop Defrocks Gay Priest Fired by the Vatican After Coming Out: VIDEO

Bloomsbury adds: “In the Closet of the Vatican is a book that reveals these secrets and penetrates this enigma. It derives from a system founded on a clerical culture of secrecy which starts in junior seminaries and continues right up to the Vatican itself. It is based on the double lives of priests and on extreme homophobia. The resulting schizophrenia in the Church is hard to fathom. But the more a prelate is homophobic, the more likely it is that he is himself gay.”

“Martel alleges that one Colombian cardinal, the late Alfonso López Trujillo, who held a senior Vatican position, was an arch-defender of church teaching on homosexuality and contraception while using male prostitutes,” according to The Guardian. “The author found that some gay priests accepted their sexuality and a few maintained discreet relationships, but others sought high-risk casual encounters. Some were in denial about their sexuality.”

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80 Percent of Vatican Priests are Gay, Claims Explosive New Book