How Abortion Bans Target the LGBTQ Community

Politicians are stripping LGBTQ people of their right to health care, writes Planned Parenthood’s Tamika Turner.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/6/15/how-abortion-bans-target-lgbtq-community

Murray Bartlett on bringing ‘Mouse’ to life in Netflix ‘Tales of the City’ reboot

In this day and age, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver would more likely be on Scruff instead of Grindr, and he would choose Folsom Street Fair over pride. That is, at least, according to Murray Bartlett, the actor who portrays the beloved gay character in the Tales of the City revival, premiering June 7 on Netflix.

The revival series reunites many of the four of the actors from the original, but Bartlett is a new edition. Although he’s not the first actor to play Mouse in the Tales franchise, Bartlett is the first to play Mouse at this stage of the character’s life: on the cusp of 50, in a relationship with a younger man, Ben (played by Charlie Barnett of Russian Doll) and still living at 28 Barbary Lane. Though HIV+, Mouse managed to survive the AIDS crisis, and now struggles with his own questions of aging as his longtime surrogate mother, Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis) celebrates her 90th birthday.

We sat down with Bartlett to talk about his portrayal of Mouse and the pressure that comes with taking on such a beloved gay character to Tales of the City, which comes to Netflix June 7.

Why were you interested in being a part of this revival?

It was kind of a dreamy concept really. I have a real affinity with San Francisco, partly because I worked here on Looking, but also because of what San Francisco represents for the community. Tales of the City encapsulated this sense of found family and the way that I want the world to be, so being part of this show was very exciting to me.

Had you read the books?

I read all the books before we started. Last summer, I was living in Cape Cod and the day after I moved up there, I got the offer for this job. So I was up there for a month and spent the whole time reading.

What about the original series?

I’d seen the first season of the show in the ’90s when I first visited San Francisco. I watched it again the first night we were here on my birthday shooting the pilot for Looking. Me, Frankie [Alvarez] and Jonathan [Groff] watched Tales of the City in my apartment.

What were your first impressions of Michael Tolliver?

I just thought he was adorable. He felt very familiar.

How did you balance bringing something new to the role while keeping Michael true to the character that the fans have come to love?

I didn’t re-watch the series before we started shooting because I didn’t want to be too colored by the other actors who have played Michael. But because I’d read the books right before, I really just wanted to try and connect to the essence of him, the way that Armistead Maupin had written him.

And because a couple of decades have gone by in the story since the last actor played Michael, a lot has happened. Mouse has gone through a huge journey – that’s such a cheesy word – but it’s true. Facing his own mortality, being HIV positive at a time when it felt like a death sentence, and then having the possibility of going beyond that, but at the same time having lost a lot. It’s like you’re almost playing a different character because he’s in such a different stage in his life.

Related: WATCH: Armistead Maupin and Jake Shears Queen Out Over Tales of the City Musical

Are there parts of Michael that have stayed the same?

He’s still a boy at heart. He’s got a boyish spirit, and I don’t think that will ever change. And it could have. He could’ve become cynical or been crushed by all the death that was happening around him during the AIDS crisis. And feeling like that was going to be his fate as well.

That very strong boyish essence is still very, very strong, but he’s got a depth of experience and some wisdom from what he’s gone through. He’s still that 20-something-year-old dancing on the bar, but he’s certainly matured in a lot of ways.

That reminds me of that dinner scene with Michael and Ben…

Oh, you’ve seen episode four?

Yeah, I’ve seen it all. It was interesting to see that conversation because it was so nuanced. What do you think of that scene?

I think it’s beautifully written because it puts the point of view of those different generations so that they’re both right and both wrong. For me anyway, when I read it, I was like, oh, I kind of agree and disagree with both of them. And it’s confusing. It makes you try and figure it out, which I think is very powerful.

Because they both have pain. They both have privilege.

Yeah. There is a lot to learn from each other, the younger generation acknowledging the shit that the previous generations went through in terms of an epidemic that was largely ignored for so long. And also the older generation celebrating this new amazing, non-binary generation of people with a different perspective. If they can both listen to each other, it’s a beautiful thing.

Tales of the City began streaming on Netflix June 7.

www.queerty.com/murray-bartlett-bringing-mouse-life-netflix-tales-city-reboot-20190615?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

‘Bonefish Harry’s’ Restaurant Gets Hate Mail After Hanging Rainbow Flag, Along with Outpouring of Support and Controversy

Bonefish Harry’s, a Massachusetts restaurant with locations in Beverly and Lynn, shared a letter this week it said it received after hanging an LGBTQ Pride flag outside its locations.

Owen Donaldson, the Beverly resident who wrote the letter, said he had eaten at the restaurant several times but would not patronize it any longer “because you have chosen to publically support activity which is immoral.”

Said the restaurant in a Facebook post sharing the letter: “To all of our loyal guests, today we received this letter declaring our restaurant immoral for hanging a Gay Pride flag from our restaurant in support of our fellow humans for Gay Pride Month. We consider this letter an attempt to bully us to remove our flag and to slander our business. We will not stand for this type of behavior and will never give in to these types of unaccepting bigoted people. We will always stand side by side with everyone in our community! We will continue to fly this flag and we are proud to show our support for all of our community members.”

The letter was posted on June 12 and immediately received thousands of shares. But some commenters questioned the authenticity of the letter, accusing the restaurant of faking it.

The Salem News reports: “The Salem News attempted to locate a person by the name of Owen Donaldson living in Beverly or on the North Shore. But a search of public records, including the city clerk’s resident lists for Beverly and several area communities, property records, available phone listings, social media, and a general search of the internet shows no one by that name living in the area.”

The restaurant returned to Facebook on Thursday, defending the authenticity of the letter, writing: “Facebook world, we appreciate the out pouring of support from everyone near and far. We want to make sure the focus of this is on accepting everyone in our community without bias and prejudgement. We are aware that there are people questioning the validity of the letter, the author and whether our restaurant had written this letter. We have no idea who Owen is or if he really exists. We 100% did not write this letter or know who did. What we do know is that we support everyone in our community and welcome everyone in our restaurants. Now lets get back to tacos and maitais!”

They have since announced a benefit for LGBTQ youth as well: “We are proud to announce that we have partnered with North Shore Alliance of GLBTQ Youth and their President Kirsten Freni for a couple of fundraisers for the group this summer. We will be selling rainbow tie die t shirts at both of our restaurants starting next week with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the group. We are also planning a couple of great nights in both Lynn and Beverly to raise money and awareness for this great cause.”

The post ‘Bonefish Harry’s’ Restaurant Gets Hate Mail After Hanging Rainbow Flag, Along with Outpouring of Support and Controversy appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

‘Bonefish Harry’s’ Restaurant Gets Hate Mail After Hanging Rainbow Flag, Along with Outpouring of Support and Controversy

Taylor Swift Performs ‘Shake It Off’ in Surprise Appearance at NYC’s Stonewall Inn: WATCH

Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at NYC’s Stonewall Inn on Friday night, singing her hit song “Shake It Off” after an introduction from Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who also joined in on a few verses.

Taylor surprising the crowd at the Stonewall Inn in NYC!#Taylorswift pic.twitter.com/UeWeQSPUBO

— swift (@swiftlovertour) June 15, 2019

Taylor Swift during a surprise performance at @TheStonewallNYC: “Shake it off, shake it off” #PrideMonth #TS7 t.co/9CL7vuYBbQ pic.twitter.com/mBZEs3S4aQ

— Variety (@Variety) June 15, 2019

Variety’s @jemaswad captured Taylor Swift thanking the crowd at @TheStonewallNYC following her surprise performance: “Happy #PrideMonth!” #TS7 t.co/9CL7vuYBbQ pic.twitter.com/M4fpk2j3fR

— Variety (@Variety) June 15, 2019

The performance came in the wake of the release of Swift’s new single “You Need to Calm Down,” seen by many as an anti-homophobia anthem. The track, which calls out haters and gives a shout-out to GLAAD, prompted a surge in donations to the LGBTQ rights group.

In recent weeks, Swift, lobbied Senator Lamar Alexander for passage of the Equality Act, and made a massive unsolicited $113,000 donation to the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ rights group working to overturn discriminatory legislation in the state.

Wrote Swift in the letter to Alexander: “I personally reject the President’s stance that his administration, ‘supports equal treatment of all,’ but that the Equality Act, ‘in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.’ No. One cannot take the position that one supports a community, while condemning it in the next breath as going against ‘conscience’ or ‘parental rights.’ That statement implies that there is something morally wrong with being anything other than heterosexual and cisgender, which is an incredibly harmful message to send to a nation full of healthy and loving families with same-sex, non-binary or transgender parents, sons or daughters.”

The post Taylor Swift Performs ‘Shake It Off’ in Surprise Appearance at NYC’s Stonewall Inn: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Taylor Swift Performs ‘Shake It Off’ in Surprise Appearance at NYC’s Stonewall Inn: WATCH

Matt Bomer Says His New Role Is About Breaking Down Walls

The actor forges new alliances as the friend of a Mexican migrant in Papi Chulo and as a once-closeted superhero in Doom Patrol.

www.advocate.com/film/2019/6/15/matt-bomer-says-his-new-role-about-breaking-down-walls