Jussie Smollett outraged over claims he inspired a little girl to fake a hate crime

Actor Jussie Smollett has lashed out at critics who have compared him to a Virginia sixth grader who faked a hate crime.

Amari Allen, a student at Immanuel Christian School, a private K-12 school, in Fairfax, Virginia, reported last week that three white sixth grade boys pinned her to the ground and cut off her dreadlocks. The incident later turned out to be a hoax after surveillance footage did not reveal any such attack, and after Allen acknowledged she made up the story.

Following the revelations that Allen had created a hoax, Instagrammer Derrick Jackson chided Smollett with the quip “Jussie really is a trendsetter,” in reference to Smollett’s own alleged faking of a hate crime earlier this year. This prompted the embattled actor to lash out with his own response.

“With all due respect brother, y’all can clown me all you want but my story has actually never changed and I haven’t lied about a thing,” Smollett quipped in his response.

He continued: “Y’all can continue to be misinformed, internalized sheep, who believe what actual proven liars feed you or you can read the actual docs. Either way, Imma be alright. I know me and what happened. You don’t. So carry on. All love.”

Smollett had initially claimed that two men attacked him on the streets of Chicago this January, tying a noose around his neck, dousing him with bleach and beating him.

After an immense outpouring of public sympathy and international media attention, a police investigation and surveillance footage later revealed that Smollett had faked the hate crime, having paid his two “attackers” to stage the incident. The two men have since sued Smollett for defamation.

The actor was also indicted on grand jury charges for filing a false police report, though his lawyers negotiated a settlement. The actor forfeited a $10,000 bond and will have to complete 16 hours of community service.

The scandal resulted in Smollett’s firing from his role on the show Empire. The FBI has is also launching its own investigation as to why charges against Smollett were dropped.

Related: WATCH: Damning new footage of Jussie Smollett from night of alleged attack

www.queerty.com/jussie-smollett-outraged-claims-inspired-little-girl-fake-hate-crime-20191002?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

LGBTQ Superheroes, Pro Wrestlers, Immigrants and Teens Hit Screens This Week on TV

Check out our weekly guide to TV this week, and make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.

The world of professional wrestling changes forever when AEW Dynamite premieres on TNT Wednesday. The fledgling promotion is poised to upend the industry long-dominated by folks like John Cena and The Rock at WWE. Inclusivity is important to AEW, featuring openly LGBTQ+ talent like Nyla Rose (the first trans wrestler signed to a major promotion) and Sonny Kiss. Catch Dynamite at 8 p.m. Eastern.

The nation’s broken immigration system is on full display in the harrowing tales of Living Undocumented, premiering on Netflix Wednesday. The film is executive produced by Selena Gomez and features a gay couple facing deportation.

The brilliant animated Netflix series Big Mouth returns with another wild exploration of teenage sexuality and socialization. The series features voice work from some of today’s funniest comedians, like creator Nick Kroll, John Mulaney and Maya Rudolph, as well as star of stage and small-screen Andrew Rannells playing a gay student. This season also features an appearance from fellow network stars, the Queer Eye guys.

Emmy Awards darling Phoebe Waller-Bridge brings her razor sharp wit to Saturday Night Live 11:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. The Fleabag creator and star will host with musical guest Taylor Swift.

An LGBTQ+ superhero takes center stage Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on the CW. Actress Ruby Rose puts on the cape and cowl as Kate Kane, Batman’s cousin and out lesbian, by day; and crime-fighting vigilante Batwoman at night.

What are you watching this week on TV?

The post LGBTQ Superheroes, Pro Wrestlers, Immigrants and Teens Hit Screens This Week on TV appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

LGBTQ Superheroes, Pro Wrestlers, Immigrants and Teens Hit Screens This Week on TV

Artist Designs ‘Hate Shield’ to Muffle Anti-LGBTQ Protesters at Pride

Matthew Terrell has developed an ingenious art project to drown out hate.

www.advocate.com/art/2019/10/02/artist-designs-hate-shield-muffle-anti-lgbtq-protesters-pride

Planet Fitness goes radio silent over CEO’s donations to numerous antigay politicians

The popular gym chain Planet Fitness is in the middle of an antigay PR nightmare and it’s not handling it well.

This week, it was revealed that the company’s CEO Chris Rondeau has been secretly funding antigay politicians for years.

Recently obtained documents from the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that in 2016, Rondeau gave $1,200 to Donald Trump presidential campaign.

In 2018, he gave money to former New Hampshire State Senator Andy Sanborn, who opposed a bill banning gay conversion therapy and he voted against updating the state’s existing civil rights laws include protections for people based on gender identity.

As a company, Planet Fitness has long crowed about its commitment to equality, deeming itself a “judgment-free zone” and offering trans members the freedom to use the locker rooms that corresponds to their gender.

Since the news that its CEO has been funding the agendas of homophobic politicians, however, the company has gone radio silent.

Not only has it ignored requests for comment, but it hasn’t issued any statement or even done the bare minimum by acknowledging the controversy on social media.

The company’s most recently tweet, and its first since the news about Rondeau broke, was an awkward joke about jeans this morning:

Perhaps the company is hoping the whole thing will blow over so it won’t have to address the issue?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. The hashtag #boycottplanetfitness has already begun circulating on Twitter, and people aren’t happy.

@PlanetFitness So let me get this right – my membership money is going to fund a traitor and homophobes? Fuck you people. I will be canceling immediately unless you can document that this is not your practice. #NoJudgment? #BoycottPlanetFitnesst.co/k6QPuyYHub

— The Ghost Rat (a Marginally Stable Genius) (@The_Ghost_Rat) October 1, 2019

Here I thought ⁦@PlanetFitness⁩ was for everyone. I was about to join a gym and it won’t be PF. #PlanetFitness#BoycottPlanetFitness#LGBTQ #LGBT t.co/o6dwaBpRgO

— Fredrick Bertz (@BertzFredrick) October 1, 2019

As you well know @PlanetFitness I am an avid fitness enthusiast and love my PF, however if your company doesn’t make these Trump donations right, I will be cancelling my membership and standing outside with signs to get others on board. #planetfitness #boycottplanetfitness

— Paul Vasquez (@kismek83) September 30, 2019

Earlier this year, Equinox Fitness had a similar scandal when it was revealed the company’s majority stake holder, Stephen Ross, had hosted a $250,000 per person fundraiser for Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, raising $12 million in a single night. As a result, members left the gym in droves.

Planet Fitness should probably address this issue ASAP if it doesn’t want to suffer a similar fate.

Related: Planet Fitness CEO has been quietly funding antigay politicians, including Trump, for years

www.queerty.com/planet-fitness-goes-radio-silent-ceos-donations-numerous-antigay-politicians-20191002?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Our Rights At Stake: Key Cases Before SCOTUS

After coming out as transgender to her employer, Aimee Stephens was fired from her job as director of a funeral home in Michigan. 

The business owner would not allow Stephens to live her truth at work, saying it would be “unacceptable.” In March 2018, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that firing Stephens for being transgender violated Title VII, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in employment.  

“No one should be denied a job or fired simply because of who they are or who they love, including LGBTQ people,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. 

Stephens’ case, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens, is one of three cases the U.S. Supreme Court is set to review that would impact federal non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people nationwide. 

Several federal courts have already ruled that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination that violates federal law. These courts have found that discrimination against LGBTQ people violates laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. 

The Trump-Pence administration, however, has recently threatened to undermine federal sex discrimination protections through regulations attempting to erase protections for transgender people. They have also asked the Supreme Court to bar LGBTQ people from receiving federal non-discrimination protections  —  critical protections in areas of life including employment, housing, health care and education. 

“The growing legal consensus is that our nation’s civil rights laws do protect LGBTQ people against discrimination under sex non-discrimination laws,” Warbelow said. 

These cases all involve employment discrimination against LGBTQ people. In Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, skydiving instructor Donald Zarda was fired from his job after telling a client he is gay. He sued on the basis of sexual orientation discrimination, but a federal trial court rejected his discrimination claim, saying that the Civil Rights Act does not protect him from being fired for being a gay man. 

Zarda appealed, and in February 2018, the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of discrimination based on sex and is prohibited under Title VII. The court recognized that when a lesbian, gay, or bisexual person is treated differently because of discomfort or disapproval that they are attracted to people of the same sex, that’s discrimination based on sex. Tragically, Zarda died in an accident in 2014 without witnessing his court victory, but his family continued the case for him. 

At its core, these discriminatory cases hurt LGBTQ people and those who love them. In the third case the high court is set to review, Bostock v. Clayton County, Gerald Lynn Bostock was fired from his job as a county child welfare services coordinator when his employer learned that he is gay. Despite appealing, in May 2018, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider a 1979 decision wrongly excluding sexual orientation discrimination from coverage under Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination.  

Now, the Supreme Court has a chance to make a statement and protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. 

“The Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify this area of law to ensure protections for LGBTQ people in many important areas of life. The impact of this decision will have very real consequences for millions of LGBTQ people across the country,” Warbelow said. 

While the Supreme Court prepares to hear these cases, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act — which would provide clear, comprehensive protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs and jury service. Now, the ball is in the U.S. Senate’s court. 

Regardless of the outcomes of these cases, LGBTQ people and others need Congress to pass the Equality Act to ensure and expand their federal protections under our nation’s civil rights laws. To learn more or to urge your senator to vote for the Equality Act, visit hrc.org/EqualityAct.

www.hrc.org/blog/our-rights-at-stake-key-cases-before-scotus?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed