Second Suspect Arrested in Attack on NYC Trans Filmmakers
David Gonzalez is accused of dousing the filmmakers with an unknown liquid while making anti-LGBTQ remarks.
www.advocate.com/crime/2019/7/24/second-suspect-arrested-attack-nyc-trans-filmmakers
Gay couple sues Trump administration for refusing their daughter American citizenship
2019 Toronto International Film Festival unveils a diverse array of awards season contenders
STX Entertainment
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) rolled out the first wave of its 2019 films — its Gala and Special Presentations lineup — on Tuesday, and once again, several LGBTQ-inclusive titles are amongst the splashy array of films debuting at the world-renowned film-lovers paradise.
Hustlers, which co-stars Transparent actress Trace Lysette as well as Lizzo, J.Lo, and others, will make its world premiere at TIFF. Lysette made the announcement herself on her social media channels.
Proud to announce @HustlersMovie is an official selection of #TIFF19. Toronto here we come! @TIFF_NET #HustlersMovie pic.twitter.com/63hePqh28l
— Trace Lysette (@tracelysette) July 23, 2019
Tracey. #HustlersMovie trailer drops July 17. @tracelysette pic.twitter.com/34SwgMAwLl
— Hustlers (@HustlersMovie) July 10, 2019
Amongst the prominent queer films are two that debuted earlier this year at Cannes, Ira Sachs’ Frankie and Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory. The former, about a French art-house movie star, features Isabelle Huppert, Marisa Tomei, Brendan Gleeson, and Greg Kinnear. And the latter, the 21st film from the gay Spanish auteur, stars Antonio Banderas and an ensemble cast that includes Penelope Cruz.
Pansexual actress Janelle Monáe stars in Focus Features’ Harriet, the long-awaited film about Harriet Tubman, starring Cynthia Erivo in the titular role.
Warner Bros. will present the world premiere of their adaptation of the popular novel The Goldfinch, starring Nicole Kidman, Ansel Egort, and Finn Wolfhard, alongside out actors Sarah Paulson and Denis O’Hare. The book features a character called Hobie, who will be played by Jeffrey Wright, who is alluded to being gay in the source material.
The world will get its first look at Renée Zellweger in Judy, featuring the Oscar-winner’s performance as Judy Garland during the last year of her life, in Rupert Goold’s moving adaptation of the stage play End of the Rainbow.
Armando Iannucci will premiere The Personal History of David Copperfield, which will star out actor Ben Whishaw alongside Dev Patel and Tilda Swinton.
Tom Hanks will star in Sony’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which will feature Tom Hanks taking on the role of children’s television host Mister Rogers. The film is directed by Marielle Heller, who also helmed last year’s GLAAD Media Award-nominated film Can You Ever Forgive Me? The 2018 documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? — also about the popular TV host — featured a touching interview with Mister Roger’s Neighborhood actor Francois (Officer) Clemmons, in which he spoke about how kind Fred was to him after he came out to his boss. Interviewer Tom Snyder asked Rogers, “Are you straight?” in an on-camera interview for the documentary. Clemmons, who is gay, says Fred Rogers was not: “I spent enough time with him, if there was a gay vibe, I would have picked it up.”
However, Rogers’ sexual orientation was back in the news in 2019, when a new interview with him surfaced in which he allegedly said, “Well, you know I must be right smack in the middle. Because I have found women attractive, and I have found men attractive.”
Other big titles premiering at TIFF 2019 include the new Joker movie in the long-running Batman franchise, Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, Abominable, Matt Damon-Christian Bale race car film Ford v Ferrari, Eddie Murphy starring Dolemite Is My Name, and Rian Johnson’s Knives Out.
The full lineup for TIFF 2019 will be released on Thursday, July 25th. Check back here for updates.
HIV Risk, Trump Non-Exoneration, Matt Damon, Tokyo Medals, Gay Wedding Photos, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, THC/CBD Drinks: HOT LINKS
NOT EXONERATED. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler asks Robert Mueller whether Donald Trump is exonerated.
The video of another key moment:
Buck: “Could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?”
Mueller: “Yes.”
Buck: “You believe that you could charge the president of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office?”
Mueller: “Yes.”
Via ABC pic.twitter.com/REBbQsSMYl— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 24, 2019
.@RepGregStanton uses his questioning time to make clear that Mueller, who was appointed to various roles by Republican presidents, was not engaged in a witch hunt pic.twitter.com/DuUZJVnpzs
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 24, 2019
GONE MISSING. 60-year-old gay wedding photos: “Decades after having photos from their same-sex Philly-area ceremony confiscated, a search is on for the owners of a historic set of prints. Can they be found before it’s too late?”
DECAPITATED. The dark original ending to Avengers: Endgame.
NOTORIOUS RBG. I am very much alive. “There was a senator, I think it was after my pancreatic cancer, who announced, with great glee, that I was going to be dead within six months. That senator, whose name I have forgotten, is now dead himself, and I, am very much alive.”
UNDETECTABLE = UNTRANSMITTABLE. CDC updates page on HIV risk levels.
NEW YORK. Cuomo signs revenge porn legislation: ‘The new law, which comes after five years of back-and-forth negotiations attempting to find a legislative weapon against “revenge porn,” creates a path for victims to remove content from the internet and imposes a penalty of up to a year in jail for violators.’
CLUCK. NYC’s very gay neighborhood Chelsea now has a Chick-fil-A.
CANN. THC and CBD-infused beverage introduced: “The company founded by two former Bain consultants is the latest to take on the growing market for non-alcoholic intoxicants that use a combination of chemicals traditionally found in the marijuana plant to make their drinks.”
RECYCLED ELECTRONIC DEVICES OF THE DAY. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals. “The Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals are made from recycled mobile phones and small electronic devices, making them 100 percent sustainable. People from Japan donated their electronics between April 2017 and March 2019 to be used in unique fashion for the upcoming games.”
FACEBOOK. FTC announces $5 billion settlement with social media giant. “The Federal Trade Commission formally approved a record $5 billion settlement Wednesday with Facebook over the company’s privacy policies. Shares of Facebook were down less than half a percent during morning trading, shaving about $1 billion from its market cap and bringing it around $576 billion. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the FTC against a tech company. The previous high was a 2012 $22.5 million fine against Google for its privacy practices. The $5 billion fine against Facebook represents approximately 9% of the company’s 2018 revenue.”
UNLICENSED. Laverne Cox reveals the one reason she needs a driver’s license.
MEDIEVAL ‘ME TOO’ STORY. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to work together again, co-writing script.
ST. PETE. Flamingo Resort to close: “The Flamingo, an iconic destination and gathering place for St. Petersburg’s gay community, will soon be torn down to make way for a new apartment complex, management announced Monday. Its last day of operations will be July 31.”
DISCOVERY OF THE DAY. A freshwater aquifer under the ocean.
HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Alphie.
The post HIV Risk, Trump Non-Exoneration, Matt Damon, Tokyo Medals, Gay Wedding Photos, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, THC/CBD Drinks: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Gay People Must Listen to the Trans Women of ‘The Garden Left Behind’
Want to stop violence against trans people? Hear the words of Shea Diamond, Ivana Black, and Kristen Parker Lovell.
www.advocate.com/film/2019/7/24/gay-people-must-listen-trans-women-garden-left-behind
People are gushing over these “twinning grooms” who were just married in a traditional Hindu ceremony
Boyfriends Amit Shah and Aditya Madiraju tied the knot in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony last week in New Jersey and it’s making front page news back in their home country.
People can’t stop talking about “the adorably fashionable twinning grooms” who wore matching pastel kurtas by designer Anita Dongre as they exchanged vows at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in New Jersey.
View this post on InstagramShaadi and other things ?? Outfit | @anitadongre Photograph | @charmipena #shahdiraju #anitadongre
A post shared by Aditya Madiraju (@mad_adiyoo) on
In an interview, Amit explained, “We wanted a proper Indian wedding. At a time when Aditya’s parents, who are based in India, were visiting us in America for the first time felt like the ideal date. It was all completely organic, we didn’t force anything. We are truly lucky to have parents who are so supportive.”
View this post on InstagramLove is meant to be celebrated. Outfits | @anitadongre #l Photography | @charmipena
A post shared by Amit Shah – Creative Director (@amit_aatma) on
The wedding ceremony was followed by a Sangeet style cocktail party attended by the couple’s closest family members and friends. The newlyweds shared photos from the event on social media.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Aditya Madiraju (@mad_adiyoo) on
Afterwards, they took to Instagram to express their gratitude, writing: “We didn’t realize the impact a simple wedding at a temple would have on people around the world looking for hope. There is no secret to acceptance, tolerance, or happiness. You just have to find the right partner to take the step with. Let the truth of your love speak for itself. Love, Amit & Adi.”
Scroll down for more pics of the happy couple…
View this post on InstagramDuring our 1 st year of dating we took a personality test. We turned out polar opposite in our choices. But one choice we both wanted to make is freedom to express our love ?? Outfit | @anitadongre Photograph | @charmipena #loveislove #gayindianwedding #shahdiraju
A post shared by Aditya Madiraju (@mad_adiyoo) on
View this post on InstagramThank you everyone who took time out to congratulate us. We are unable to respond to each and every message but are very grateful for the support system we have witnessed ?? As we fall back into our routine life it is important to remember that the right to equality and freedom of expression is a given. No one should be mistreated because they have taken a different route than yours ?? Humanity and love over hatred?????????? Outfit | @anitadongre Zardosi Juttis | @domanishoes Photograph | @charmipena #shahdiraju #anitadongre
A post shared by Aditya Madiraju (@mad_adiyoo) on
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Amit Shah – Creative Director (@amit_aatma) on
Related: WATCH: This lavish gay Indian wedding is the stuff of dreams
Ryan Murphy’s Second Season Curse Haunts ‘Pose’ [RECAP]
Your enjoyment of last night’s episode of Pose depends on how much surrealism you like in your dramas.
For the second time this season, a large chunk of screentime and emotional arc in last night’s episode was dedicated to ghosts/hallucinations/apparitions. It’s an odd choice, considering how much they used the device in a divisive installment two weeks ago.
Don’t get me wrong. Pose presents such a vital and rarely glimpsed story, and its cast is so overwhelmingly talented, even at its weakest, it’s still stupendous. However, last night’s reliance on spirits and musical numbers feels like a disservice to the larger story.
The episode centered on Pray Tell, played to perfection, as always, by Billy Porter. The AZT he was so dead set against is actually poisoning him. The AZT toxicity is affecting his platelets, and he’s back at the hospital.
In short order, his hospital roommate dies, and a distraught Pray is sedated. It’s during this state Pray encounters his Dickensian spirit guides.
The first is an appearance from Candy. Sigh. If we hadn’t JUST done this with Candy, this may have had a bigger impact. She acts as a sort of temptress, encouraging Pray to give up, overdose and join her in heaven where she’s hanging out with all the famous people who died of AIDS. That’s right, Candy was also positive, but didn’t tell anyone.
Here’s my whole problem with a lot of this segment. Take Candy, for example. She was always a sort of secondary character. “Revealing” all this about her after she died feels like an extremely cheap ploy to wring pathos out without doing the work to build that character organically.
I don’t want to see a fully-realized ghost Candy explaining herself and revealing herself to characters from the Other Side. No, I want to see it happen in “real time.” I want to see her interacting with multiple characters at once, I want to see their relationships change over time, and I want to see how those changes ripple out into the rest of the community.
Even the tragic exchange between Pray and his stepfather felt cheap and exploitative. The sexual predation is revealed to add depth to Pray’s character, but will it ever be spoken of again? How has this colored his worldview and actions previously? How is he changed from this exchange?
A feverish Pray performs a fantasy musical sequence to “The Man That Got Away.” Throughout it all, Porter is a goddamn powerhouse, obliterating every single scene he’s in. This was his episode to shine, and he went above and beyond to transcend the uneven storytelling.
If you think too hard about any of these flashes, it’s tough to pin down what they represent. Broadly, Pray is trying to decide whether it’s worth it to keep living. Candy and his ex Costas play the devil/angel on his shoulders, I suppose, but it’s tough to track his emotional evolution from one exchange to the next. How he gets from Point A (wanting to give up) to Point B (deciding to keep fighting) isn’t entirely clear.
The timing for all of this could not be worse, because it’s almost time for the hospital AIDS cabaret. With Pray out of commission, Blanca takes over planning.
She hangs up flyers at her salon, drawing the ire of Frederica (Patti LuPone). At first, Frederica reveals she’s also lost people to AIDS. Then, she promises to attend the event, give a proper donation and maybe also sing a tune.
OK, sure. Look, I’m not going to argue against a Patti LuPone performance, regardless how thinly it’s justified.
The cabaret is just an excuse for an extended musical sequence, which, again, I’m not complaining. Sandra Bernhard’s nurse performs in full glam. Elektra sings a song that I’m not still not entirely sure is supposed to be good or bad. Blanca and a recovering Pray Tell sing “Love’s In Need of Love Today.” It’s all amazing.
LuPone gifts us with “I’m Still Here” from Follies. It’s great. And she’s great! Frederica seems sincerely moved by the event and Blanca’s hard work.
Of course, it’s all a ruse. Frederica was keeping a close eye on Blanca while her henchmen removed all her stuff and boarded up the salon. Yikes!
Blanca has a plan though. Sure, she’ll file a lawsuit, but that could take a long time. She needs direct action, now. Inspired by all the recent ACT UP work, they stage a protest. Pray comes through with more folks to bolster their presence, including Lulu and House Wintour. The fight is far from over.
It’s a shame they wedged another hallucination/haunting story into the same episode as the musical. There is so much to explore in the lives of these characters. How much more powerful would it have been to see Pray struggle through this with Blanca or Nurse Judy? (Or if you want something fresh, why not Elektra? Angel?) How much more interesting would it be to give screentime to Lil Papi, instead of Pray’s stepdad (or Candy’s parents for that matter)?
Even as much as I enjoyed the musical elements, what was gained from Judy’s song or Elektra’s? I felt so much more community and hope from the protesters showing up at the end of the episode than I did from the cabaret.
Restraint has hardly been a hallmark of any Ryan Murphy production, but I was so hoping Pose would escape the season two curse. I’m using “Ryan Murphy” as shorthand for his style and frequent collaborators. (This week’s episode was directed by Tina Mabry and written by Our Lady J and frequent Murphy collaborator Brad Falchuk.) Murphy co-wrote the Candy death episode two weeks ago, contrasted with series co-creator Steven Canals, who wrote last week’s much more grounded story centering on Damon and Ricky.
I’m not giving up, not by a longshot. There are incredible stories that need to be told here, and the show has one of the strongest ensembles to tell them.
No gimmicks necessary.
What did you think of the episode?
The post Ryan Murphy’s Second Season Curse Haunts ‘Pose’ [RECAP] appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
HRC and Partners to Host #MMHMChat to Mark Minority Mental Health Month
HRC is proud to announce our first-ever #MMHMChat, which will be held on July 29 at 1 p.m. EST. This Twitter Chat provides an important opportunity to discuss mental health, stigma and other disparities facing LGBTQ communities of color.
Since its official designation in 2008, Minority Mental Health Month honors the work of advocate Bebe Moore Campbell by raising awareness of the mental health experiences of minority and marginalized communities.
Although the LGBTQ community reports high rates of anxiety and mood disorders, studies have shown that living at the intersections of LGBTQ and minority identities compounds rates of mental health issues due to racism, heterosexism and cissexism.
“It is one thing to discuss being a man or queer or Black separately,” said George Johnson, in a blog for HRC. “It is something else when you are the embodiment of all three — like I am — and you face additional pressures from society around conforming in both white and Black, cis-het and queer spaces alike.”
HRC is honored to be joined by partners from across the U.S. to host #MMHMChat, including:
… and more to come!
Following the Twitter Chat, be sure to join HRC for a panel discussion at our D.C. headquarters on July 31 that Rayceen Pendarvis will moderate and which will be streamed live on HRC’s social media channels.
For more information about HRC’s 2019 Minority Mental Health Month event and to RSVP, click here.
So about that ‘anonymous footballer’ coming out on Twitter…
A Twitter account allegedly maintained by an anonymous sports star about to come out as gay has been conspicuously deleted, just one day before the user would have revealed his identity.
@footballergay captured international attention for his tweets, in which he promised he hoped “to break the mould” and planned to “reveal his identity soon.” Other tweets had said that the user would announce his identity today, July 24. Instead, he deleted the account.
Related: Gay pro footballer promises he’s coming out soon… very soon
“I thought I was stronger. I was wrong,” he tweeted just before deleting his account. Previous tweets had hinted at his identity, indicating that he was under the age of 23 and played in English Football League Championship.
“Just remember that I’ve got feelings, without coming out I can’t convince anybody otherwise, but this isn’t a hoax. I wouldn’t do that,” the user added. The BBC also reports receiving several private messages from the user detailing his fears and reasons for coming out.
Nonetheless, observers have already accused the user of planting a hoax given the timing of the deletion. In either case, men’s soccer has only a handful of out-gay players, including US player Robbie Rodgers and Swedish player Anton Hysen. Other players, like France’s Olivier Giroud, have called it “impossible” for male players to come out as gay, and criticized the air of homophobia over the sport.
You must be 18 years old or older to chat
